M&A Deal Summary

Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Acquires Clear Group

On June 27, 2022, private equity firm Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking acquired insurance company Clear Group from ECI Partners

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking’s 6th transaction in the Insurance sector.
  • This is Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking’s 10th transaction in the United Kingdom.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2022-06-27
Target Clear Group
Sector Insurance
Buyer(s) Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking
Sellers(s) ECI Partners
Deal Type Secondary Buyout
Advisor(s) Macquarie Capital (Financial)
Squire Patton Boggs (Legal)

Target

Clear Group

London, United Kingdom
Clear Group is an independent insurance broker with over 30,000 clients and handling over £100m of premiums. It is focused on the UK corporate and SME market and has strong expertise in niche insurance verticals including property and construction. Clear Group was formed in 2006 and is based in London.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking

New York, New York, United States
Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1986
PE ASSETS 155.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division is the investment arm of Goldman Sachs. The primary corporate investment group within the Merchant Banking Division is Goldman Sachs' direct investment arm. GS's direct investment arm consists of GS Capital Partners, GS Mezzanine Partners, and GS Growth Partners. GS Capital Partners is the direct corporate equity investment group which seeks LBO, recapitalization, and growth investments to help fund acquisitions, expansions, recapitalizations, restructurings, buyouts, and take privates. GS Capital Partners looks to invest between $50 and $800 million in opportunities in North/South America, Europe, Asia. GS Mezzanine Partners is the junior capital arm of Goldman Sachs. GS Mezzanine looks to invest between $200 million and and $800 million in transactions valued up to $10 billion. Investment proceeds are used to fund leveraged buyouts, expansion financings, recapitalizations, acquisitions, and restructurings. GS Growth looks to invest in growth equity transactions. The unit seeks to commit $20 to $200 million per investment. Other units within GS's merchant banking division include Real Estate, Infrastructure, and Urban Investments. Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division is based in New York City.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 177 of 180
Sector (Insurance) 6 of 6
Type (Secondary Buyout) 63 of 65
Country (United Kingdom) 10 of 10
Year (2022) 3 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2022-06-16 Lucid Energy Group

Dallas, Texas, United States

Lucid Energy Group is a provider of midstream services to producers in high-growth production areas pursuing organic development projects and strategic acquisitions in other producing basins. Lucid Energy Group is based in Dallas, Texas.

Sell $3.6B
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2022-08-09 Blue Nile

Seattle, Washington, United States

Blue Nile is an online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry. Blue Nile offers a customer experience that includes education, guidance, selection, customization capability, convenience and value. Blue Nile, Inc. was formed in 1999 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Sell $360M

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

ECI Partners

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1976
PE ASSETS 2.0B GBP
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

ECI Partners is a private equity firm focused on the smaller middle-market company that invests in growing businesses valued up to £300m. ECI looks for UK businesses or businesses with a substantial presence in the UK. Funds are generally used to support expansion, acquisitions, management buyouts, buy-ins, turnarounds, and refinancing. Target sectors include IT services, support services, Insurance, and SME services. ECI will not invest in early-stage companies. ECI Partners was formed in 1976 and has offices in London, Manchester, and New York.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 72 of 76
Sector (Insurance) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 24 of 26
Country (United Kingdom) 67 of 71
Year (2022) 4 of 6
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2022-06-20 BCN Group

Manchester, United Kingdom

BCN Group is a provider of on-premise, hybrid, and cloud hosting solutions, cloud migration services, application support, voice solutions, data management, hardware sales, and maintenance services to hundreds of customers across the country. BCN Group was formed in 2009 and is based in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2022-07-20 Bionic

London, United Kingdom

Bionic provides SMEs with price comparison and switching services for a range of areas, including electricity, gas, insurance, and telecoms. Bionic was founded in 2007 and is based in London, United Kingdom.

Sell -
Mergr

Product

Company

Legal