PALO ALTO, Calif. — July 19, 2016 — HGGC, a leading middle market private equity firm, today announced that it has completed a growth equity investment in Integrity Marketing Group, LLC (“Integrity”), one of the nation’s leading independent distributors of life and health insurance products focused on serving the senior market. As part of the transaction, Integrity’s owners will retain a significant stake in the business. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
Integrity develops and distributes life and health insurance products with insurance carrier partners and markets these products through its distribution network, which includes other large insurance agencies located throughout the country who collectively serve more than 100,000 independent agents.
“We are excited to partner with HGGC and access their expertise in providing infrastructure and support to help Integrity grow to the next level,” said Bryan W. Adams, Managing Partner of Integrity.
“With the depth of carrier and distribution relationships and product expertise, Integrity is uniquely positioned as a platform for future growth,” said Steve Young, Co-Founder of HGGC and Chairman of Integrity. “Between the strong leadership in place today, and the appetite to expand this leadership through existing and new partnerships, we believe Integrity will continue to grow with many pillars of market leadership.”
“In partnering with HGGC, Integrity gets so much more than financial resources,” added Adams. “We get a team of professionals who truly understand our business and the right strategy to achieve success in continuing to take advantage of the promising market trends that will enable us to grow the business both organically and through acquisitions.”
HGGC and Integrity concurrently announced today that they have agreed to acquire Norfolk, Nebraska-based Premier Companies, Inc. (“Premier”), a leading insurance marketing organization. As part of this transaction, Premier’s owners have agreed to reinvest a significant portion of their proceeds alongside HGGC and Integrity. “As one of the original members of the Integrity network, this was a natural fit for Premier as we look for ways to continue to grow our company and better position ourselves to take advantage of new opportunities,” said Mike Wingate, Principal of Premier.
“For entrepreneurs like us, this was a step we would only take if we were sure that we had the right partner,” said Tom Schueth, Principal of Premier. “After meeting the HGGC team, it was clear that they not only believed in our vision for the company, but they also believed in the way we had grown the business and wanted to support us going forward.”
“The Integrity platform is well positioned in the life and health insurance market and we strongly believe we can partner effectively with Bryan, Mike, Tom and senior management to drive growth through multiple avenues,” said Rich Lawson, Co-Founder and CEO of HGGC. “Consistent with past HGGC partnerships, we developed a strong alignment with our partners through the investment process and are completely aligned in our vision for the future growth.”
