J.C. Flowers & Co. has a come to a definitive agreement to buy AmeriLife Group, an insurance marketing firm based in Clearwater, Florida. The purchase price was not included in the press release announcing this deal. Timothy O. North, AmeriLife CEO, and Gary Jenkins, president, have also agreed to re-invest a significant portion of their proceeds with Flowers, according to the press release.
AmeriLife’s new owner, J. Christopher Flowers, is looking at both organic growth as well as growth through acquisitions. He writes: “Today’s new health care regulations have made Americans more cognizant of the need for improved insurance coverage, which continues to create more opportunities for AmeriLife,” of the ways in which health care reform has impacted the insurance industry.
AmeriLife, which employs more than 600 people in the Tampa Bay area, went on the sale block back in September of 2014. It is almost surprising that a deal took this long to come together, with J.C. Flowers & Co. or otherwise, given that AmeriLife develops and distributes insurance products for the senior market—a quickly-growing market as the baby-boomers continue to grow older.
Hopefully, this deal will benefit all involved parties.
About J.C. Flowers & Co.
J.C. Flowers & Co., founded in 1998, is a leading private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry. They have invested more than $14 billion of capital in 39 different portfolio companies in 14 countries. With approximately $8 billion of assets under their management, J.C. Flowers has offices in New York and London.
About AmeriLife
AmeriLife is the nation’s premier independent distributor of annuity, life insurance, and health insurance products, specifically focused on serving the fast-growing senior market. Its national distribution network includes over 100,000 agents across every U.S. state. AmeriLife was founded in 1971.