Wales' only FTSE 100 business Admiral has agreed the sale of its US car insurance venture, Elephant Insurance, to private equity firm J . C. Flowers & Co.
While the value of the deal has not been disclosed car insurance to loans group Admiral, which employs more than 7,000 in south Wales, indicated that J. C. Flowers would pay "approximately the net asset value of Elephant."
Completion of the deal is contingent on regulatory consent and is anticipated to be finalised in the final quarter of this year Flowers & Co. established in 2001 and headquartered in New York City, is steered by billionaire J. Christopher Flowers, an ex-partner at Goldman Sachs.
The firm, which specialises in the global financial services sector, has a history of investments in entities such as the Co-Op Bank, OneSavings Bank, and interactive investor,
Last year, Admiral announced it was reviewing strategic alternatives for its US operations after facing challenges within the division.
Elephant Insurance, launched in 2009 as part of Admiral's strategy to broaden its international reach, faced difficulties in expanding its customer base. By the close of 2024, the division had only managed to attract 140,000 customers, positioning it as the smallest of Admiral's four overseas branches.
However, following a significant loss of £19.6m in 2023, Elephant had a strong 2024 posting profits of £14m. Admiral decided to divest from the business. In March, when it disclosed that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with an undisclosed party, now identified as J. C. Flowers, to offload the division.
Costantino Moretti, head of international insurance at Admiral, stated: "In Elephant, we have built a business with a great foundation, and selling the company to J.C. Flowers is the right decision to ensure its future success.
Most Read
"J.C. Flowers and Elephant have a shared ambition for generating growth and value. This partnership will allow the business to continue to deliver the high-quality insurance products and services that US motorists need."
He added that the sale is a positive outcome not only for Elephant and its employees but also for the group and its shareholders, allowing Admiral to focus on long-term sustainable growth opportunities in the 海角视频 and mainland Europe.
Eric Rahe, managing director and co-president of J. C. Flowers, said: "J.C. Flowers has a long, distinguished history of investing in the insurance industry, and we will leverage our experience to help Elephant Insurance generate new opportunities as a standalone company. We are excited to partner with the Elephant team as the business enters this new stage of development."