SOBC DARAG has completed its previously announced acquisition of Peachtree Casualty Insurance, a Florida-based nonstandard auto insurance company in run-off, for an undisclosed price.
Image: SOBC DARAG completes its first acquisition in the US. Photo: courtesy of IndypendenZ/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
Peachtree Casualty Insurance is the maiden acquisition for SOBC DARAG, which is a joint venture formed between SOBC and DARAG in August 2018.
SOBC is a US-based company focused on acquiring entities with legacy insurance liabilities, including insurance companies, captives and risk retention groups.
Founded in 2006, SOBC has made 17 acquisitions of insurance entities and currently has six under management across the US and Bermuda.
DARAG, on the other hand, is a Germany-based insurance and reinsurance company, engaged in assumption of discontinued business and the provision of capital relief solutions. In the last nine years or so, DARAG has closed 23 run-off transactions across 15 countries with a combined worth of over €740m.
Its joint venture with SOBC was created to help DARAG expand into the US and Bermuda/Caribbean run-off markets.
DARAG Group CEO Tom Booth said: “The completion of Peachtree is the first step in our exciting expansion plans into the USA. DARAG Group, having raised an additional equity commitment of €260m ($300m) in July, is committed to expansion in the USA and Bermuda markets: SOBC DARAG will be the platform to achieve this.
“We are looking forward to considerable growth in this area over the next 12 to 24 months.”
The joint venture’s acquisition of Peachtree Casualty Insurance was wrapped up following approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FL OIR).
DARAG revealed that the Ohio-based team of SOBC DARAG has also taken over the day-to-day management and claims handling to ensure a successful run-off.
SOBC DARAG CEO Stephanie Mocatta said: “We are really pleased to have closed our first transaction under our new joint venture between SOBC and DARAG. Working together with DARAG has been extremely satisfying; we have been able to work efficiently and effectively to get this transaction completed in a short time frame.
“We are now working together on several more potential transactions and look forward to considerable expansion of SOBC DARAG here in the USA.”