International private equity firm Cinven announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell Viridium Group (‘Viridium’ or ‘the Company’) to a consortium composed of Allianz, BlackRock, T&D Holdings, Hannover Re, and Generali Financial Holdings.
Viridium is a leading life insurance consolidator, managing €67 billion in assets under management, covering 3.4 million policies, and employing approximately 900 specialized employees. Cinven’s investment in Heidelberger Leben, a retirement and life insurance provider in Germany with €5 billion in assets and 600,000 policies in 2014, laid the groundwork for this success. Cinven recognized an opportunity to consolidate the fragmented German life insurance sector, and invested in best-in-class technology to create a single modern business platform, setting the stage for the development of Viridium.
Following Cinven’s investment, the firm’s Financial Services Sector and DACH Regional teams collaborated to fuel investment and growth. Viridium Group, the company’s new name, reflects the evolution of the business.
Working closely with the management team, Cinven executed an ambitious growth plan that included acquiring Skandia, Entis, and Proxalto (formerly Generali Leben). This strategy developed a highly effective platform that positioned the Company for continued leadership in the European life insurance market.
With Cinven’s support, Viridium prioritized:
- Investing over €700 million in a state-of-the-art business platform for technology and operations improvements, to ensure improved efficiency and future scalability.
- Implementing a refined asset management strategy resulting in improved returns for customers.
- Enhancing customer service functions to deliver strong customer service levels.
- Implementing operational excellence initiatives to enhance the productivity of the organization.
- Appointing an industry-leading management team with significant experience, which has overseen a winning culture across the organization.
These initiatives transformed Viridium into one of the largest and most advanced life insurance consolidation platforms globally.
Bruno Schick, Co-Managing Partner and Head of the DACH team at Cinven, stated, “Cinven is proud to have built Viridium from the ground-up and developed it into Germany’s leading life insurance consolidation platform. This sale to a consortium of top-tier global insurers and asset managers, with the continued involvement of Hannover Re and Generali, provides an excellent foundation for continued growth and highlights the strategic value of Viridium. It’s a clear reflection of Cinven’s unparalleled leadership in the Financial Services Sector and the DACH region.”
Samy Jazaerli, Senior Principal in Cinven’s Financial Services Sector team, added, “The investment by Cinven Funds in Viridium is a testament to Cinven’s long-term vision, commitment to excellence and focus on sustainable value creation. Viridium is now perfectly positioned for continued growth. With numerous further strategic opportunities in the European life insurance sector and Viridium’s proven capabilities, the company is ideally placed, and we wish Viridium every success in the years to come.”
Dr. Tilo Dresig, CEO of Viridium Group, commented, “I would like to thank Cinven for its valuable support and partnership throughout its investment. Cinven’s entrepreneurial approach, insurance expertise, and our shared vision have been key to Viridium’s development as a leading German life insurer. As a result, the company is now strategically positioned to seize significant future growth. It has been a pleasure working together to reach this important milestone for Viridium. We look forward to the exciting opportunities ahead.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other standard closing conditions.
Cinven received advisory services from Goldman Sachs International and Fenchurch Advisory (M&A), Freshfields (Legal), KPMG (Financial), Willis Towers Watson (Actuarial), Bearing Point (Operations), Capgemini (Technology), EY (Tax), and Deloitte (Structuring).
