Centennial Group Benefits in Costa Mesa merged with 23 other U.S. insurance brokers to form Alera Group, which is backed by San Francisco private equity firm Genstar Capital LLC.
Alera, in Deerfield, Ill., has 40 offices in 15 states that serve about 20,000 clients; it employs 750 and expects to post $158 million in annual revenue. Centennial kicks in about $5.5 million of that.
Alera said it’s the fourteenth largest privately held U.S. insurance brokerage.
The deal allows “Centennial to elevate its client services, grow its expertise and offer more thought leadership to the local market,” said President Matthew Hanson.
Genstar previously helped start national insurance broker Confie in Huntington Beach. In 2008 it provided $75 million in capital, expanded Confie, and in 2012 sold it to Boston private equity firm ABRY Partners.
Confie has bought more than 100 insurance brokerages under its successive owners. It has about 700 offices, 4,400 employees, and $500 million in revenue.
Confie and Alera plan to continue to buy local insurance brokers in the U.S. Alera’s focus is on employee benefits; Confie targets commercial insurance and nonstandard auto insurance.
—Paul Hughes
