The majority shareholders of Prosperity Life Insurance Group, LLC, including funds managed by Reservoir Capital Group, LLC, and Black Diamond Capital Partners, have entered into a definitive agreement to sell 100 percent of their ownership interests in Prosperity to an investment partnership funded by affiliated entities of Elliott Management Corporation (collectively, "Elliott"); operating principals of Wand Partners, Inc., an insurance-focused private investment firm; and Anurag Chandra, current chief executive officer of Prosperity.
Prosperity said in a statement that it expected the transaction to be completed in the third quarter of 2018, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Prosperity, through its member companies, Shenandoah Life Insurance Company, SBLI USA Life Insurance Company, Inc., and S.USA Life Insurance Company, Inc., is a provider of protection, supplemental, and asset accumulation products distributed through banks, independent marketing organizations, managing general agencies, career, and worksite channels.
"This transaction is a testament to the exceptional strategic and financial transformation that the company has achieved under the leadership of Prosperity's board of directors and management team," said Mr. Chandra. "As the company seeks to build on its strong momentum and further accelerate the implementation of its organic and inorganic growth strategy, this ownership transition to another experienced investor group with a long-term investment horizon and significant financial resources will serve as a key source of competitive advantage."
Matt Popoli, chairman of Prosperity and senior managing director of Reservoir, said, "As the founding investor and the sponsor of Prosperity, it has been exciting to see the company achieve numerous significant milestones since its inception in 2009, when Reservoir and Black Diamond partnered to form the business and build it through the sponsored demutualizations of Shenandoah in 2012 and SBLI USA in 2014. I believe that Elliott and Wand will be great partners to continue the company's positive momentum."
"We are very pleased to have reached agreement to acquire Prosperity and look forward to backing this entrepreneurial and successful management team," said Jonathan Pollock, partner and co-chief executive of Elliott, and leader of this initiative. "Elliott and Wand have partnered on insurance investments since 2009 and have a successful track record of supporting incumbent management teams with access to significant capital resources to strengthen the financial profile of the businesses and accelerate their growth. We look forward to building on Prosperity's sound platform for stability and growth."
Barclays has acted as exclusive financial advisor and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has acted as legal advisor to Prosperity in the transaction. Greenberg Traurig and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP have acted as legal advisors and Ernst & Young has acted as accounting and tax advisors to Elliott and Wand.