JAB to Acquire Fairfax Pet Insurance Stake in Pethealth, Crum & Forster

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Press release: JAB Holding Company

JAB Holding Company and Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited recently announced a transformational strategic partnership, in which JAB’s pet insurance business has agreed to acquire all of Fairfax’s interests in the Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group and Pethealth Inc., including all of their worldwide operations. As part of the transaction, Fairfax will also make a $200 million¹ investment in JCP V, JAB’s latest consumer fund.

As a result of the transaction, in which Fairfax will receive $1.4 billion in the form of $1.15 billion cash and $250 million in seller notes, JAB’s combined global pet insurance and ecosystem platform will be estimated to have gross written premiums and pet health services revenues of well over $1.2 billion by 2023, insuring more than 2.1 million pets. The pet insurance industry, which has been expanding at a rate of approximately 20 percent per year on a global basis, is expected to continue to see many years of steady, strong growth, driven by attractive long-term trends in petcare and significant opportunities to expand penetration, especially in the US and Canadian markets which have less than 3 percent penetration. C&F Pet today insures over 500,000 pets and markets or serves as underwriter for numerous brands, including ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, 24Petprotect, Hartville Pet Insurance, Spot Insurance Services, Pumpkin Insurance Services and PetCoach, LLC (provider of Petco pet insurance plans) in the United States and Pets Plus Us in Canada. Pethealth provides wellbeing and safety solutions to shelters and pet parents under the 24Pet brand, which includes the 24Petwatch Registry with over 20 million registered pets.

“Fairfax is very happy to partner with Olivier Goudet and JAB Holding Company,” said Prem Watsa, the founder, chairman and CEO of Fairfax. ”JAB has had an outstanding track record over the past 10 years and we expect this to continue. While we have sold our pet insurance business to JAB, we will invest $200 million in their JCP V to become their partners. We expect JAB to soon become leaders in pet healthcare and pet insurance globally. We wish them much success.”

“We are extremely excited to partner with Prem and his organization on this transformational transaction, and to welcome them as a partner in our fund,” said Olivier Goudet, Managing Partner and CEO of JAB. “Prem has an incredible multi-decade track record of building great businesses and compounding returns, and we look forward to accelerating the growth of their pet insurance business as part of our focused pure-play pet insurance platform.”

“Today’s transaction is a major milestone for us in our mission to become a global leader in pet insurance and the pet health ecosystem,” said Dirk Beeckman, CEO of JAB’s pet insurance portfolio. “It also significantly advances our mission of providing the leading health and wellbeing ecosystem for pets through the offering of affordable, comprehensive pet products and brands throughout a pet’s lifecycle. C&F Pet‘s long history of disciplined omni-channel underwriting fits perfectly with our culture, and we look forward to working with the team.”

“We are extremely proud of what we have built and accomplished together in the animal welfare community and the pet insurance ecosystem,” said Gary McGeddy, president of Crum & Forster A&H. “We are confident that JAB will continue to invest and focus on pets and pet parents while growing their global presence and we are excited about the future and our partnership.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including various regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second half of 2022.