Applied Systems Acquired by Hellman & Friedman from Bain Capital for $1.8B

Applied Systems Inc., a leading insurance software provider, said it has agreed to be acquired by investment funds advised by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC.

The company is being acquired from the global private investment firm Bain Capital in a transaction valued at approximately $1.8 billion.

JMI Equity, a private equity firm that focuses on software and technology businesses, will be investing alongside H&F and, under the terms of the agreement, members of Applied Systems’ senior management will continue to maintain a significant ownership position in the company, the company said.

In 2006, Bain Capital acquired a majority stake in Applied Systems from Vista Equity Partners in a buyout that was reported to be worth $675 million. Long-time Applied Systems chief executive Jim Kellner retained a major stake in the company. Kellner remained as CEO until September, 2011, when Reid French was appointed CEO.

Applied Systems provides insurance software and agency management systems along with data exchange between agencies, brokerages, carriers and their clients. The company serves 12,000 agencies and brokerages and 350 insurers across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Hellman & Friedman LLC, which has offices in San Francisco, New York and London, is currently investing its seventh fund, which has more than $8.9 billion of committed capital. H&F has experience in the software and insurance industries through current and previous ownership agencies, insurance carriers and software providers. In 2013, it acquired a majority stake in the insurance broker HUB International. It also has investments in Paris Re and Sedgwick.

“We believe Applied Systems is a uniquely positioned company in the global insurance software market,” said David Tunnell, managing director of Hellman & Friedman. “It combines the largest user base in the industry with Applied Epic, the fastest growing new agency management system, to be the market leader in insurance technology for deployments both on premise and in the cloud.”