Lee Equity discusses recent insurance broker investment; plus 6 more PE-backed car wash deals

View this email online

Lee Equity discusses recent insurance broker investment; plus 6 more PE-backed car wash deals

Good morning dealmakers, thank goodness it’s Friday.

It’s Obey Martin Manayiti here with the newsletter.

I had an interesting conversation this week with Lee Equity’s Mark Mauceri about the growing complexities in the insurance business. The firm recently invested in a Canadian insurance broker. I’ll share some insights, below.

Next, it’s summer, and many of us are hitting the road. PE firms are betting we’ll get our cars cleaned first. I rounded up PE backed investments in I rounded up six more car wash deals.

Finally, we are looking at Leonard Green & Partners’ growth investment in a provider of pharmacy technology.

Insurance

Companies operating in complex sectors are facing difficulties in placing insurance coverage, a situation that is opening opportunities for Axis Insurance Managers, a portfolio company of Lee Equity Partners, according to Mark Mauceri, a partner at the firm.

Lee Equity recently invested in Axis Insurance, a Vancouver, Canada-based insurance broker and risk management company focused on small and mid-size businesses.

Premium subscribers have access to Mauceri’s insights.

Time to get your car cleaned

A wave of private equity firms snatching up car wash businesses has continued since the spring 2022 when PE Hub started tracing it. Interest has continued to pick up over the last two years, including a deal from KKR, announced earlier this week.

PE Hub rounded up six deals, and you can see details on one of them by upgrading to the premium version of the Wire.

Pharmacy tech

Yesterday, Leonard Green & Partners made a growth investment in RedSail Technologies, a Spartanburg, South Carolina-based provider of pharmacy technology and solutions.

Upgrade to the premium version to learn more on this deal.

PE firms have increasingly picked opportunities with the pharma sector. Almost a year ago, PE Hub rounded up these six PE-backed pharmacy service deals target growth.

That’s it for today. You can always reach me at [email protected] for news tips.

Filling in for MK Flynn, Michael Schoeck will be back with the newsletter on Monday.

Have a nice weekend,

Obey

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

There may be a big one coming this summer. CalPERS, the largest pension system in the US managing more than $500 billion, has been quietly exploring a potential large private equity secondary sale that would come on the heels of the system’s $6 billion transaction in 2022, two sources told Buyouts.

A Coller Capital survey found 64% of LPs believe at least one of the private equity GPs they are currently invested with will merge with, or be acquired by, another GP in the next two years. (Buyouts)

From a financial performance standpoint, early impact funds from Bain Capital, KKR and TPG are shaping up well; but there is still much to prove. (New Private Markets)

An 'Editor's View' from Private Equity International's Carmen Mendoza says that closing the carry ‘loophole’ could open a set of bigger problems. "Debates on increasing tax on carried interest shouldn’t ignore the wider contribution private equity brings to economies."

One silver lining has emerged in this bleak capital-raising environment: investors are still willing to take chances on new manager relationships. (Private Equity Real Estate)

They said it

“Insurance has become more of a focus for the C-suite executives and corporate boards and, at the same time, the insurance carriers who provide the coverage have gotten more selective about the types of risks that they want to underwrite. With these dynamics, the value proposition of the broker has never been stronger and as coverage gets more expensive and harder for companies to obtain, it really puts a premium on the value of good advice from an expert.”

— Mark Mauceri, a partner at Lee Equity Partners said following his firm’s investment in Axis Insurance Managers.