Admiral Group sells comparison portals to RVU for over £508 million

UK-based car insurance provider Admiral Group announced that RVU will purchase Penguin Portals Group for £508 million, in addition to a further amount that will accrue until the completion date of the deal.

Founded in 2018, Penguin Portals is a group of comparison platforms for financial services such as confused.com, Rastreator.com and LeLynx.fr, which is owned by Admiral and MAPFRE.

RVU is the comparison division of ZPG, which is jointly owned by US-based Red Ventures, a portfolio of digital brands including Lonely Planet, Bankrate, and coverage.com, and Silver Lake, GIC and PSP Investments.

“The purchase of the UK and European comparison businesses by RVU offers a positive outcome for our customers and our employees, and also provides good value for our shareholders. The combination of Penguin’s strengths, notably in insurance comparison across much of Europe, with RVU’s strengths beyond insurance and experience in growth through acquisition, provides a solid foundation for the combined businesses to grow and prosper. Admiral will continue to focus on what Admiral has consistently done well, namely designing and underwriting good value mass market financial service products. Comparison will continue to be Admiral’s most important distribution channel in Europe and we look forward to continuing to work closely with Confused.com, Rastreator and LeLynx as they continue to grow and strengthen the customer offering. It is a wrench to part company with our fellow employees at Confused.com, Rastreator, LeLynx, Admiral Technologies and Preminen, but I believe it is the right choice for the long-term success of the businesses and will create many interesting and worthwhile opportunities for our teams going forward. I thank them and their predecessors for their contribution to the success of the Group and to the financial well-being of their millions of customers.” – Group CEO of Admiral Group, David Stevens.

“We are very excited for the next stage of our journey. Our purpose, strategy, expertise and culture align strongly with that of RVU. Becoming part of a global network of brands and platforms, united by the same mission to help people make better decisions, will bring significant benefits to our customers and our people. We are also very thankful for all of the support and guidance we have received from Admiral Group throughout the years. I would particularly like to thank David, Milena and Henry for their foresight and trust. The extraordinary efforts of every member of the Penguin team has meant that in 2020 all of the Penguin Portals have proved to be highly resilient customer-centric businesses. Thank you Penguins! I know we will go from strength to strength with RVU as we are given great support, will benefit from highly relevant learnings and have huge ambition for the future.” – Penguin Portals CEO, Elena Betes.

“Penguin Portals offers an exciting opportunity for us to expand our consumer brand portfolio and geographic reach. With its focus on insurance, Confused.com perfectly complements Uswitch’s existing expertise in the home services category, and, with equally established offerings in other countries, we have an opportunity to help even more consumers find the right deals for their needs.” – RVU CEO, Tariq Syed.