Ripe Thinking Ltd., a UK-based digital underwriting and insurance distribution platform, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement for Aquiline Capital Partners LLC to acquire a majority stake in the company.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Aquiline is a private investment firm based in New York and London with $6.9 billion in assets under management, specializing in investments at the intersection of technology and finance. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Since its founding in 1997, Ripe has grown rapidly serving a variety of customers across both personal and small commercial lines. Today, Ripe is a leading insurtech business with more than 280,000 policyholders, protecting their specialized needs across golf, boats, caravans, and cycles, as well as providing insurance to small business owners such as personal trainers, musicians, and photographers.
Ripe’s proprietary technology enables customers to “build their own policy,” providing tailored solutions. Over the past 12 months, Ripe’s revenue grew by 27%.
Following this investment, Aquiline will work closely with the company’s management team to continue and accelerate the build of a market-leading digital insurance distribution platform. Ripe’s management team will continue to be led by CEO Paul Williams and Founder & Managing Director John Woosey, who will retain a significant equity stake, and Marketing Director Sarah Jones.
“The way people buy insurance is changing. As more individuals turn to online platforms to purchase insurance, Ripe offers a simple process for buying policies online while still ensuring quality coverage at a good value,” commented Jeff Greenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of Aquiline.
“We are excited to partner with Aquiline, whose deep understanding of the UK and global insurance markets, and their track record of supporting technology-enabled businesses will allow us to further develop our offerings to our customers and continue to build out our underwriting and distribution capabilities,” said Woosey.
He said the investment will allow Ripe to accelerate its ambitions for international growth.
“Aquiline is an ideal partner to support Ripe through our next phase of growth. The investment will allow us to further expand the capabilities of our industry-leading technology platform and reach customers through new and innovative channels,” said Williams.
Closing of the investment is subject to parties obtaining relevant regulatory approval.
Houlihan Lokey provided corporate finance advice and Norton Rose Fulbright provided legal advice to Aquiline. Due diligence was performed by Deloitte (financial, tax and regulatory) and Crosslake Technologies (technology).
Keefe Bruyette & Woods provided corporate finance advice and Ernst & Young provided legal advice to Ripe. Vendor due diligence was performed by Oliver Wyman (commercial) and KPMG (financial, tax, technology, operations and regulatory).
About Aquiline Capital Partners
Founded in 2005, Aquiline is a private investment firm based in New York and London, investing in companies across financial services and technology, business services, and healthcare industries.
Source: Aquiline Capital Partners
Topics Mergers & Acquisitions InsurTech Tech
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