White Mountains to Acquire a Majority Stake in Bamboo in California
White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Bamboo Ide8 Insurance Services, LLC (“Bamboo”), an MGA focused on the California homeowners insurance market.
White Mountains expects to invest roughly $285 million, including primary capital to support Bamboo’s growth, and to acquire roughly 70% of Bamboo basic shares outstanding.
Bamboo was launched in 2018 by John Chu. Bamboo provides homeowners’ insurance for more than 100,000 California policyholders using a technology-enabled underwriting platform to select and manage risk.
Bamboo is now poised to expand into other states. John and the current Bamboo management team will continue to lead the business through its next phase and will retain a significant equity stake.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024. The closing is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The closing is not subject to a financing condition. The exact ownership to be acquired by White Mountains, and the resulting amount that will be invested, will be determined based on Bamboo unitholder elections made prior to closing.