Experian acquires Gabi for $320 million

Earlier this week, Experian disclosed its half-yearly financial results where it shared that it acquired US-based insurance aggregator Gabi for $320 million and Brazil-based digital payments fintech PagueVeloz for $33 million.

The rationale behind this acquisition was Experian’s desire to grow its presence in the insurance marketplace. “This wholly-owned digital insurance agency allows us to expand our presence in the auto insurance vertical.”

Founded in 2016, Gabi (a team of ~200) is a mobile-first insurance shopper from San Francisco. It closed $39 million across 4 financing round and is backed by insurance carriers Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, CMFG Ventures, and Securian Ventures. It works with over 40 regional and national home and auto insurance carriers throughout the US, including Nationwide, Travelers, Progressive, Safeco, Encompass, and Kemper.

Bottom Line: The deal emphasizes the importance of operating a choice model and de-emphasizes the importance of everything else. In insurance, you only need to get Distribution right. Embrace it .