Private investment firm Palladium Equity Partners has agreed to sell Pronto Holdco, the parent company of Pronto Insurance (Pronto), a full-service Managing General Agency (MGA), broker and claims administrator, to Risk Placement Services, a unit of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
In late 2014, affiliates of Palladium partnered in the investment in Pronto with the Varela family, which had founded the company in 1997.
Pronto's primary business is the placement of personal automobile insurance for consumers throughout Texas, California and Florida, with a special focus on serving the rapidly growing Hispanic community.
Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Brownsville, Texas, Pronto operates an omni-channel distribution network of Pronto-owned agencies, franchise agents, independent agents and a direct-to-consumer eCommerce platform. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018.
Pronto Insurance president and CEO Jorge Barcena said: "As we look forward to joining with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and Risk Placement Services, we also thank the Palladium team for the value they added to Pronto as our partners over the past three years across areas of growth, operations and leadership. From the outset, when Palladium joined with the Varela family in investing in Pronto, they shared our view of the potential of our business and were ideal partners as we executed our strategy to expand both organically and via acquisitions."
William Blair & Company acted as financial advisor and Locke Lord LLP acted as legal counsel to Pronto.
Source: Company Press Release