Business Moves – Midwest

Genstar Capital, Acrisure

San Francisco-based private equity firm Genstar Capital LLC has acquired Acrisure, a large retail insurance brokerage headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Acrisure’s product lines include property and casualty, employee benefits and related third party administrator services, human resource outsourcing, loss and claims management, surety bonding and personal lines coverage. The company was co-founded in 2005 by CEO Greg Williams to acquire independent insurance agencies across the Midwest and since then has completed 26 acquisitions.

J. Ryan Clark, a managing director at Genstar, as well as Tony Salewski and David Golde of Genstar, will join the Acrisure board of directors. John Addeo, retired CEO of Genstar’s former portfolio company, Confie Seguros, will also join the Acrisure Board.

Clark said Genstar plans to grow and expand Acrisure’s footprint nationally.

Genstar pursued a similar growth strategy with its former portfolio company Confie Seguros, which Genstar helped build into a national insurance distribution company primarily focused on the needs of Hispanic consumers.

Genstar partnered with John Addeo and other leading insurance industry executives in 2008 to establish Confie Seguros and grew the company to more than 300 retail locations with annual revenues approaching $200 million by 2012.

Genstar completed a successful sale of Confie Seguros in November 2012.

AcquiGrowth Capital advised Genstar and Dowling Hales advised Acrisure on the recent Acrisure transaction.

Sports Insurance Specialists

Sports Insurance Specialists LLC, a Fort Wayne, Ind.-based sports risk management firm, has expanded into the golf market.

The company has created a comprehensive line of insurance coverage for golf courses (public and private), golf management companies, golf associations, golf tournaments, and other areas of the golf business.

To facilitate the expansion, SIS appointed PGA professional golfer, Chris Montagano, to lead the unit. Prior to joining Sports Insurance Specialists, Montagano served as a golf professional for six seasons at the nationally recognized, Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne.

Sports Insurance Specialists LLC provides risk management for a variety of local, regional and national sporting and special events activities.