Cinven and BCI will inject the additional capital required by Compre to meet its growth plans
Cinven and British Columbia Investment Management to become majority shareholders in Compre. (Credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)
Private equity firm Cinven and Canadian institutional investor British Columbia Investment Management (BCI) have signed a deal to acquire a majority stake in specialist legacy group Compre for an undisclosed price.
The sellers are CBPE Capital, Hudson Structured Capital Management, and Compre’s management.
Compre is a specialist consolidator of closed books of non-life insurance policies with a focus on acquiring and managing discontinued non-life portfolio. The company has offices across the UK, Malta, Finland, Germany, Bermuda, and Switzerland.
Established in 1991, Compre has made 11 company acquisitions and 39 portfolio transactions across Continental Europe, the UK, and also the US. The portfolios it had acquired were formerly owned by Allianz, Generali, Swiss Re, HSBC, and other institutions.
Under CBPE Capital’s ownership, the specialist legacy group closed 21 transactions across 10 jurisdictions, which included its first in the US. The deal in the US is said to have enabled the company to set up its Bermuda legacy platform.
Cinven partner Luigi Sbrozzi said: “Over the last 30 years Compre has built a proven platform in the highly specialised insurance and reinsurance run-off market, and a reputation amongst its clients for consistently creating and realising value.
“Compre is extremely well placed to access new growth markets, such as the US and Lloyd’s, and to broaden its client offering further. We look forward to working with Compre’s management team to deliver these growth opportunities, drawing on the deep expertise of the Cinven team in the insurance sector.”
The existing management team of Compre, including CEO Will Bridger, will continue in their roles and as minority shareholders in the company.
Cinven and BCI will inject the additional capital needed by the specialist legacy group to meet its growth plans.
Bridger said: “Compre has a long history in the legacy market built on a client-centric approach that sets us apart. Our reputation for providing bespoke solutions to our clients and for delivering shareholder value has enabled us to establish a company with tremendous potential that I am privileged to lead.”
The deal, which is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, is expected to close in Q2 2021.