Cinven, the majority investor in International Financial Group Limited (IFGL), has agreed to acquire Sweden-headquartered insurance company Säkra for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition of Säkra marks the fourth investment from Cinven’s strategic financials fund (SFF), which held its final closing in July 2022 with total capital committed of €1.5bn (£1.3bn, €1.5bn).
Founded in 1990, Säkra provides life and non-life insurance products, as well as pension and wealth management services, to more than 35,000 SME clients and more than 115,000 individual customers. Säkra has more than 60 offices across Sweden and employs approximately 350 people.
Cinven believes Säkra is an “attractive investment opportunity” due to its “cash generative business model and attractive recurring revenue base”, as well as offering the “opportunity to accelerate” the company’s long-term growth plan through a combination of organic growth and bolt-on M&A deals.
‘Highly attractive’ business
Luigi Sbrozzi, partner and co-head of Cinven’s SFF, said: “Cinven is very pleased to be making this investment in Säkra. It is a highly attractive, resilient specialist insurance intermediary business with strong long-term growth opportunities across all of its segments and a history of consistent growth through various economic cycles.
“The investment is supported by a resilient underlying market in Sweden and is well-positioned to grow organically, with further upside through its demonstrated M&A trajectory. Säkra offers a high-quality scalable platform, with associated benefits for clients as the business develops and expands over the long-term. We look forward to working with Säkra’s chief executive and her colleagues in further developing and growing the business.”
Eva Pantzar Waage, president and chief executive at Säkra, added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Cinven to deliver the next phase of Säkra’s growth. Säkra is a firm with a strong reputation, skilled employees and significant future growth opportunities, with scope to build on the company’s existing strengths through incremental, targeted strategic investments.
“Cinven’s skills and expertise, including its knowledge of the sector and proven track record of investing in established European financial services businesses, will help accelerate Säkra’s growth going forward.”
Previous purchases
The SFF has made three investments to date:
- March 2021: Miller, a specialist insurance and re-insurance broker, acquired in partnership with GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund;
- April 2021: Compre, a global consolidator of closed books of non-life insurance policies, acquired in partnership with British Columbia Investment Management Corporation; and
- February 2022: International Financial Group Limited (IFGL), the life insurance provider of cross-border, long-term savings products for internationally mobile clients – parent company of RL360.
