M&A Deal Summary

The Carlyle Group and Cardinal Capital Group Acquire AA Insurance

On June 29, 2016, private equity firms The Carlyle Group and Cardinal Capital Group acquired insurance company AA Insurance from AA for 157M EUR

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is The Carlyle Group’s 9th and Cardinal Capital Group’s 1st transaction in the Insurance sector.
  • This is The Carlyle Group’s 114th and Cardinal Capital Group’s 0th largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is The Carlyle Group’s 6th and Cardinal Capital Group’s 3rd transaction in Ireland.
Investment Fate
  • AA Insurance was sold to a consortium of financial buyers in 2020.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2016-06-29
Target AA Insurance
Sector Insurance
Buyer(s) The Carlyle Group
Cardinal Capital Group
Sellers(s) AA
Deal Type Divestiture
Deal Value 157M EUR

Target

AA Insurance

Dublin, Ireland
AA Insurance is a roadside assistance provider and insurance intermediary. It provides roadside repair and Rescue, and Motor, Home, Travel & Life insurance. It also provides technical and audit services notably for the Road Safety Authority. AA Insurance was founded in 2016 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

The Carlyle Group

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1987
PE ASSETS 435.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION
Carlyle's corporate headquarters on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DC.
Carlyle's corporate headquarters on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DC.

The Carlyle Group is a global investment firm that pursues private equity, credit, and real estate investments worldwide. Carlyle's private equity practice practice pursues buyouts, strategic minority equity investments, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, and growth capital financings. With offices in 19 countries, Carlyle can easily target opportunities throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East/North Africa and Latin America. Broad sectors of interest include aerospace, defense, automotive and transportation, consumer, retail, energy and power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology services, business services, telecommunications and media. The Carlyle Group was formed in 1987 and is based in Washington DC.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 561 of 744
Sector (Insurance) 9 of 15
Type (Divestiture) 57 of 72
Country (Ireland) 6 of 10
Year (2016) 10 of 29
Size (of disclosed) 114 of 137
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-06-29 Solasto

Tokyo, Japan

Solasto Corp. is provider of medical administration outsourcing and long-term care services in Japan.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-07-01 Inca Rail

Cusco, Peru

Inca Rail is a tourist train operator transporting travelers to the historic Andes citadel of Machu Picchu, to offer its passengers the best possible travel experience, encompassing safety, comfort and absolute attention to detail. The Company has a diversified base of clients coming from all over the world. Inca Rail sells train tickets both through travel agencies and directly to customers, through ticket offices and its e-commerce platform. Inca Rail is based in Cusco, Peru.

Buy -
Buyer
DESCRIPTION

Cardinal Capital Group is an investment group principally focused on providing alternative financing solutions to small and mid-sized companies throughout Ireland. Cardinal Capital looks to invest €5 to €50 million per transaction and will consider direct investments as well as mezzanine financing commitments. Cardinal Capital Group was formed in 2003 and is based in Dublin.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 5 of 13
Sector (Insurance) 1 of 1
Type (Divestiture) 2 of 3
Country (Ireland) 3 of 11
Year (2016) 2 of 2
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-05-03 Learning Pool

Derry, United Kingdom

Learning Pool is a provider of online training and learning management systems. Every day a community of 1.25 million learners across 350 companies and government bodies uses Learning Pool’s products and services to meet compliance requirements and drive performance improvement. Learning Pool was founded in 2006 and is based in Derry, United Kingdom.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-05-18 McCauley

Dublin, Ireland

McCauley operates 35 stores nationwide on high streets, in shopping centers, retail parks, and medical centers that are focused on Health, Wellness, and Beauty and are renowned for their premium brands, high levels of staff training and excellent customer service. McCauley was founded in 1953 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

AA

Basingstoke, United Kingdom

Category Company
Founded 1905
Sector Insurance
Revenue 995M GBP (2020)
DESCRIPTION

AA is an UK insurance broker with over 2.3 million insurance policies that has a competitive advantage through sophisticated customer analysis ratings and tailored pricing capabilities based on proprietary member data. These capabilities combined with the AA brand and web presence (with over 190 million visits per annum) create a very strong offering in the insurance market. Building on these strengths the AA can provide more competitive and distinctive offers for members in the future. The company remains focused on actions to improve performance in our Motor insurance business by targeting rate reductions from the panel, improving retention performance in call centers, and improving online customer experience. Further, as part of the evolution of the insurance business model, the company will relaunch Financial Services offering to increase its footprint. AA was founded in 1905 and is based in Basingstoke, United Kingdom.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 2
Sector (Insurance) 1 of 1
Type (Divestiture) 1 of 2
Country (Ireland) 1 of 1
Year (2016) 1 of 1
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-11-29 AA - Home Emergency Business

Basingstoke, United Kingdom

AA plc - Home Emergency Business will provide a claims fulfilment service for Customers of the AA’s ongoing home emergency cover which is sold via banking relationships and as add-ons to other home insurance policies.

Sell -