European private equity firms Montagu Private Equity and Astorg Partners are considering selling off their UK insurance software investment, according to reports.
Five sources familiar with the matter, quoted in a Reuters report, said that Montagu is considering a sale of Open GI in a deal worth several hundred million pounds. The sources also confirmed that the firm is working with advisers on a strategic review of the business in preparation for a formal sale sometime during the second quarter of 2023, and that Open GI could be worth up to 12 times its expected core earnings of over £30 million.
Montagu had backed a management buyout of UK-based Open GI in 2014; the private equity firm had previously owned and sold the business to broker Towergate in 2007.
Meanwhile, Open GI’s counterpart Acturis is also preparing itself for a sale, three other sources told Reuters. Astorg purchased a minority stake in the employee owned Acturis in 2019 for an undisclosed sum.
According to Reuters, private equity firms like Montagu and Astorg were investing in insurance IT suppliers for some time, until “insurtech” companies emerged in the second half of the last decade, which aimed to disrupt traditional insurance. The news outlet noted that currently some firms, like Montagu, are looking to monetise their investments after overhauling their portfolio companies’ technology stack.
In other insurance software-related news, legal expenses insurer ARAG announced that it has made several of its products available on the Acturis platform. The insurer’s debut on Acturis gives brokers access to ARAG’s family, commercial and property owners’ legal expenses insurance products, as well as the company’s home emergency offering.
