AmeriLife announces growth investment from Thomas H. Lee Partners
AmeriLife announced that it has entered into a recapitalization agreement with an investor group led by Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”), a premier private equity firm investing in growth companies, and other investors including Cannae Holdings and certain THL limited partners. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020 subject to customary closing conditions, were not disclosed. THL is acquiring a majority stake from J.C. Flowers & Co., LLC (“J.C. Flowers”), a leading private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry, and other investors.
“We are excited to partner with THL in the next phase of our growth, building upon the success of our more than four-year relationship with J.C. Flowers & Co.,” said Scott R. Perry, CEO of AmeriLife. “THL has a strong track record of partnering with management to add long-term, sustainable value to great companies like AmeriLife. THL’s deep industry expertise and financial and operational resources will enhance AmeriLife’s capabilities and provide financial flexibility to accelerate our growth.”
Under Scott Perry’s leadership, AmeriLife has grown significantly, fueled by expansion of the Medicare market and through strategic acquisitions that have expanded the company’s broad capabilities in serving the financial needs of pre-retirees and retirees. AmeriLife has remained focused on delivering a compelling value proposition to the agent and advisor community, as well as to their carrier partners, helping to position them to better serve clients.
“Scott and the AmeriLife team have done an incredible job building a leading market position with strong leadership and an unrivaled distribution platform that is poised for further growth and expansion,” said Ganesh B. Rao, Managing Director at THL. “We look forward to working alongside this talented team to further support its impressive growth trajectory, and to help fulfill their mission of providing powerful marketing and technology services and a selection of the best life and health insurance, wealth management, and retirement planning solutions available in the marketplace.”
“It has been a pleasure for J.C. Flowers & Co. to support AmeriLife’s extraordinary growth and the development of the company’s management team,” said Eric Rahe, Managing Director at J.C. Flowers & Co. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome of our investment and with the future growth outlook for AmeriLife. The company is well-positioned to continue as the leading independent national distributor in the life and health insurance industry.”