Keystone Insurers Group, an independent insurance agency, and Bain Capital Credit, a global investment specialist, launched Keystone Agency Investors (KAI), a platform to acquire and invest in U.S. retail insurance agencies. The platform launches with the objective of deploying at least $500 million of capital over the next several years.
The newly launched business will both provide liquidity and acquisition capital to Keystone Insurers Group’s agencies, as well as acquire non-Keystone agencies. Approaching $4 billion in premium, Keystone Insurers Group’s network of more than 270 agencies has grown to span across 17 states since its founding in 1983. The company expects to expand nationally in the next five years. KAI will both provide liquidity and acquisition capital to interested Keystone Insurers Group’s agencies, as well as focus on the acquisition of non-Keystone agencies seeking to gain access to the resources and expertise Keystone provides to its participating partners.
“KAI brings together one of the leading insurance agency networks in the U.S. with one of the leading global investment firms with a long track record of successful investments in financial services businesses,” David E. Boedker Sr., CEO of KAI and CEO of Keystone Insurers Group, said. “The launch of KAI in partnership with Bain Capital Credit is a natural progression for our growing organization and consistent with our history of providing value-added services to our agency partners for over 37 years. We expect that this will accelerate our national expansion as well as put an end to other organizations acquiring our agency partners and removing them from our network.”
“We’re excited to partner with David and his talented team to launch this well-capitalized and differentiated platform,” Jeff Robinson, a managing director at Bain Capital Credit, said. “We look forward to supporting KAI’s growth and expansion into new markets through our operational capabilities and a continued acquisition strategy.”
In conjunction with the launch of the platform, KAI announced its first two acquisitions, L. Calvin Jones, an insurance agency based in Canfield, OH, and Duncan Financial Group, an insurance and financial services organization based in Irwin, PA. Both businesses have been participating agencies of Keystone Insurers Group for more than a decade.
“The KAI platform is well-positioned to attract top quality agencies, as demonstrated by our first two acquisitions, L. Calvin Jones and Duncan Financial,” Matt Popoli, incoming board chairman for KAI, said. “We are fortunate to have Jim Klingensmith, CEO of L. Calvin Jones, and David Duncan, CEO of Duncan Financial, and their respective teams become part of the KAI platform and continue to lead their individual businesses.”
