CVC Credit is pleased to announce that it has committed senior facilities to support KKR’s acquisition of APRIL Group (“April”), the second largest insurance broker-distributor in France with €1.5bn premiums in 2022. April designs, distributes and manages branded insurance solutions on behalf of partner insurers and benefits from a large network of independent retail brokers that handle customer contact and acquisitions. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Lyon, April has 2,300 employees and has access to a network of around 16,000 partner brokers.
CVC’s Private Equity business, through CVC Capital Partners Fund VII, acquired April in June 2019 from the business founder and supported its transformation from an insurance conglomerate with potential for improvement into a focused and growing leader in insurance distribution. This was achieved by refocusing its activities around insurance distribution and carrying out an in-depth transformation of its business model. Having generated strong performance CVC announced the sale of April to KKR in November 2022.
Edward Michel, Managing Director at CVC Credit said: “April is a fast-growing French insurance leader with a turnover of more than €500 million in 2021, double-digit growth in 2022 and a nearly 20-point rise in its NPS. Building on April’s impressive historical financial performance following its transformation over recent years and its position as the French leader in wholesale insurance, we pleased to be supporting the business’s ambitious strategy alongside its new owner KKR.”
We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with KKR and the management team at April as they continue to build on the strong growth the company has achieved.John EmpsonManaging Partner and Co-Head of Private Credit
John Empson, Managing Partner and Co-Head of Private Credit at CVC Credit added: “We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with KKR and the management team at April as they continue to build on the strong growth the company has achieved. Our aim at CVC Credit is always to back the strong credits, well positioned sponsors and experienced management teams and this partnership ticks all of these boxes.”
Eric Maumy, President and CEO of APRIL Group stated: “The APRIL Group was created 35 years ago by a visionary entrepreneur. After a great collaboration with CVC Capital Partners, April recovered its original strength. Our aim now is to continue the history of this great company and to make it a French champion on a global scale. This next chapter will be enabled by the management team, our 2,300 employees, and KKR, for the benefit of our partners and policyholders.”
