Carlyle Group leads $150 million investment in Alera Group
The Carlyle Group announced that its Global Credit platform led a $150 million preferred investment for Deerfield, Illinois-based Alera Group , one of the largest property and casualty, employee benefits insurance brokers and wealth management providers in the US. Alera is a privately-held company backed by Genstar Capital and Alera employees.
“Alera is one of the fastest growing insurance brokers in the country and we are pleased to provide the long-term capital it needs to continue building a best-in-class platform. We leveraged our expertise in insurance brokerage and an existing relationship with Genstar to structure a customized financing solution for Alera in an otherwise challenging economic environment.” – Alex Popov, Carlyle’s Co-Head of Illiquid Credit Strategies and Head of Carlyle’s Credit Opportunities team.
“Carlyle’s financial strength, experience in our industry and reputation for being a trusted partner to the companies in which it invests made them a logical choice for us as we added capital to continue the growth of our business. We look forward to working with Carlyle as we continue to create value for our clients, our employees and both our internal and external investors.” – Alan Levitz, Alera’s Chief Executive Officer.
“This preferred investment represents a significant next step in Alera’s growth trajectory, and we are excited about adding Carlyle’s expertise and capital to the organization. This transaction will be invaluable to Alan and the Alera team as they continue to drive organic growth and evaluate strategic acquisitions.” – David Graham, Director of Debt Capital Markets at Genstar.
Carlyle’s Global Credit segment made the investment with capital from its Credit Opportunities Fund, a $2.4 billion fund that closed last year. An 18-person team based in New York and London is dedicated to the fund, which invests in privately negotiated capital solutions primarily for upper middle market borrowers, including both private equity sponsored and family or entrepreneur-owned companies. The fund has invested $1.9 billion of capital since inception and seeks to benefit from proprietary investment opportunities originating from within Carlyle and the firm’s global resources and operating expertise.
