PE firm Parthenon buys into Venbrook at around 10x Ebitda

Parthenon Capital has taken a majority stake in privately held US broker Venbrook Group, The Insurer can reveal.

According to sources the private equity firm has bought out the interest of chairman Bill Lopatin (pictured left) as part of the transaction.

Although terms of the acquisition are not known, sources suggested the deal valued the Woodland Hills, California-based firm as high as $150mn and was based on a multiple of around 10x Ebitda.

The firm is understood to have been employee-owned prior to the Parthenon Capital buyout.

Venbrook, which is led by president and CEO Jason Turner (also pictured), was launched in 2002 and has built through a series of acquisitions alongside individual and team hires.

Its main operating subsidiary is Venbrook Insurance Services.

It has retail operations for commercial insurance and employee benefits brokerage as well as a wholesale and MGA platform. The group also has a private client services division targeting high net worth individuals and a claims management unit.

Its commercial insurance brokerage arm operates across a broad spectrum of P&C lines of business, while its Venbrook Specialty Services unit incorporates a transactional wholesale brokerage and a MGA that writes specialty programs.

It has utilized debt financing previously on acquisitions, including a $42mn capital raise from New York Life subsidiary Madison Capital Funding in 2016 when it bought New Jersey-based wholesale broker and MGA Brooks Insurance Group.

At the time it said it was targeting what it saw as opportunities for further consolidation in the wholesale space, and to build out its MGA platform.

Earlier this month Venbrook added to its management team with the appointment of Sonia Ahuja as COO from Farmers Financial Solutions.

The executive has been tasked with overseeing top-line growth through organic initiatives, as well as strategic acquisitions and partnerships, and is responsible for operations efficiencies and margin improvements across the Venbrook Group and its subsidiaries.

According to the firm’s website, other key management executives include CFO Gig Palmer, who joined Venbrook from investment bank and advisory firm Raymond James & Associates in 2016, co-president Greg Econn, who is also managing director of Venbrook Insurance Services, and David Rosen, managing director of the Brooks Insurance Agency.

In addition to its Woodland Hills, Los Angeles headquarters, Venbrook has San Diego and Orange County offices in California, a Schaumburg, Illinois office, and offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington.

Parthenon Capital has made a number of investments in the sector and formerly held stakes in wholesale giant AmWINS and expansive retail broker Relation.

Venbrook and Parthenon could not be reached for comment on this article.