Insurance Technology Is Hot. Clearlake Capital Is Buying for Up to $900M in Latest Deal

Founded in 1995, Zywave provides cloud-based insurance distribution software for employee benefits and property and casualty companies. Zywave’s technology helps customers streamline their sales and renewal processes, quote delivery, content generation, as well as their data tracking and analytics.

Clearlake’s investment “will enable us to both accelerate our growth organically and increase our pace of acquisitions moving forward,” Liu said in the statement.

Clearlake invests in sectors including software and technology-enabled businesses, industrial and energy, as well as consumer companies. The Zywave deal follows Clearlake’s acquisition of ePreop, which offers cloud software for hospitals and surgery centers, on Wednesday and its purchase of Baril Corp, a medical products maker, in August.

“Zywave has a best-in-class software platform and an innovative portfolio of products that automate key revenue-generating activities at insurance brokerages,” said Behdad Eghbali, a Clearlake co-founder and managing partner, in the statement.

The sale represents a near seven-year hold for Aurora Capital, which acquired Zywave in December 2013 from Vista Equity Partners. Aurora couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

The sale of Zywave is the latest in a string of insurtech deals. Insurtech refers to companies that use technology, like artificial intelligence and machine learning, to upend the insurance model.

One of the biggest insurtech deals came in August, when Roper Technologies agreed to buy Vertafore, which provides cloud-based software for the property and casualty insurance market, for $5.35 billion. PE firm Thoma Bravo last month boosted its buy of Majesco, which offers cloud-based insurance software that helps other insurers modernize and innovate, to $729 million.

Lemonade, which provides rental insurance,went public in July and saw their shares more than double in their debut. Earlier this week, Thomas H. Lee Partners agreed to buy Insurance Technologies, which supplies sales and regulatory automation solutions for the insurance and financial services industries.

Dan Connolly, Peter Dalrymple and Evan Brainerd of William Blair provided financial advice to Zywave.

Source: Barrons