Palladium Equity Partners Enters into Definitive Agreement to Sell Pronto Insurance to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Palladium Equity Partners, LLC (along with its affiliates, "Palladium"), a private investment firm with over $2.7 billion in assets under management, today announced that one of its affiliated funds has signed a definitive agreement to sell Pronto Holdco LLC, the parent company of Pronto Insurance (Pronto), a full-service Managing General Agency (MGA), broker and claims administrator, to Risk Placement Services, Inc., a unit of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG). In late 2014, affiliates of Palladium partnered in the investment in Pronto with the Varela family, which had founded the company in 1997.

Pronto's primary business is the placement of personal automobile insurance for consumers throughout Texas, California and Florida, with a special focus on serving the rapidly growing Hispanic community. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Brownsville, Texas, Pronto operates an omni-channel distribution network of Pronto-owned agencies, franchise agents, independent agents and a direct-to-consumer eCommerce platform. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018.

Jorge Barcena, President and CEO of Pronto Insurance, said, "As we look forward to joining with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and Risk Placement Services, we also thank the Palladium team for the value they added to Pronto as our partners over the past three years across areas of growth, operations and leadership. From the outset, when Palladium joined with the Varela family in investing in Pronto, they shared our view of the potential of our business and were ideal partners as we executed our strategy to expand both organically and via acquisitions."

William Blair & Company acted as financial advisor and Locke Lord LLP acted as legal counsel to Pronto.

Following is a link to the press release that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has issued regarding the transaction: http://investor.ajg.com/news-releases/news-release-details/arthur-j-gallagher-co-signs-definitive-agreement-acquire-pronto

About Palladium Equity Partners, LLC
Palladium is a middle market private equity firm. The firm seeks to acquire and grow companies in partnership with founders and experienced management teams by providing capital, strategic guidance and operational oversight. Since its founding in 1997, Palladium has invested approximately $1.9 billion of capital in 30 platform investments and more than 100 add-on acquisitions. The firm focuses primarily on buyout equity investments in the range of $50 million to $150 million. The principals of the firm have significant experience in consumer, services, industrials, and healthcare businesses, with a special focus on companies they believe will benefit from the growth in the U.S. Hispanic population. Palladium is based in New York City. For more information, visit www.palladiumequity.com.

Media Contact for Palladium Equity Partners:

Todd Fogarty, KEKST, [email protected], 212-521-4854

SOURCE Palladium Equity Partners, LLC