Going Private • Insurance

Bain Capital Private Equity and HarbourVest Partners Acquire esure

On August 14, 2018, private equity firms Bain Capital Private Equity and HarbourVest Partners acquired insurance company esure for 1.6B USD

Acquisition Context
  • This is Bain Capital Private Equity’s 1st and HarbourVest Partners’ 8th transaction in the Insurance sector.
  • This is Bain Capital Private Equity’s 41st and HarbourVest Partners’ 32nd largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Bain Capital Private Equity’s 10th and HarbourVest Partners’ 15th transaction in the United Kingdom.
Investment Fate
  • esure was sold to a publicly-traded strategic buyer in 2025 for 1.3B GBP.

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M&A Deal Summary

Date August 14, 2018
Target esure
Sector Insurance
Buyer(s) Bain Capital Private Equity
HarbourVest Partners
Deal Type Going Private
Deal Value 1.6B USD

Target Company

esure

Reigate, United Kingdom
esure is a motor insurer offering car, home, pet and travel insurance over the internet and by phone through the esure and Sheilas’ Wheels brands. esure was founded in 2000 and is based Reigate, United Kingdom.
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Buyers Overview 2

Buyer

Bain Capital Private Equity

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1984
PE ASSETS 44.2B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Bain Capital Private Equity (BCPE), is the private equity investment arm of alternative asset management firm, Bain Capital. BCPE targets leveraged buyout and growth capital transactions in a wide variety of industries including information technology, communications, media, healthcare, industrial/manufacturing, retail/consumer, and financial services. Bain Capital is based in Boston with additional offices in New York, London, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Munich.


Deal Context for Buyer #
Overall 176 of 253
Sector: Insurance 1 of 5
Type: Going Private 17 of 25
Country: United Kingdom 10 of 11
Year: 2018 9 of 12
Size (of disclosed) 41 of 75
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-08-14 Benefex

Southampton, United Kingdom

Benefex is a provider of online employee reward and benefit schemes. Benefex was founded in 2003 and is based in Southampton, United Kingdom.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-09-26 SurveyMonkey

San Mateo, California, United States

SurveyMonkey specializes in online surveys and forms that empowers people with the insights they need to make decisions with speed and confidence. SurveyMonkey's intuitive feedback management platform connects millions of users worldwide with real-time AI-powered insights that drive meaningful decisions. SurveyMonkey was founded in 1999 and is based in Palo Alto, California.

Sell -
Buyer

HarbourVest Partners

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1978
PE ASSETS 147.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

HarbourVest Partners, LLC is an investment firm that makes investments in new private equity partnerships, acquires secondary interests, and makes direct investments in operating companies. HarbourVest's largest investment area is investments in private equity funds, comprising of approximately 2/3 of HarbourVest's assets. HarbourVest's direct investment group looks for investments in growth oriented businesses at a variety of stages. The Group generally targets co-investments of $5 to $100 million, growth capital financings of $5 to $40 million, or mezzanine commitments of $5 to $20 million. Sectors of interest include software, hardware, data communications, telecommunications, and financial services. HarbourVest was formed in 1997 to assume the business of Hancock Venture Partners which was formed in 1982. HarbourVest Partners is based in Boston, Massachusetts, with additional offices in London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.


Deal Context for Buyer #
Overall 182 of 214
Sector: Insurance 8 of 12
Type: Going Private 24 of 26
Country: United Kingdom 15 of 17
Year: 2018 14 of 26
Size (of disclosed) 32 of 61
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-08-03 Meadow Foods

Chester, United Kingdom

Meadow Foods is a dairy group and supplier of milk based dairy ingredients to the food industry. Meadow Foods was founded in 1992 and is based in Chester, United Kingdom.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-08-20 Xpressdocs

Fort Worth, Texas, United States

Xpressdocs is a provider of high quality, on-demand print-based marketing programs and services to the residential real estate and other industries. Xpressdocs was founded in 1998 and is based in Fort Worth, Texas.

Sell -