Carlyle Leads $150 Million Preferred Investment for Alera Group

Funds to Support Alera’s Growth and Acquisition Activities

NEW YORK and DEERFIELD, Ill. – The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CG) today announced that its Global Credit platform led a $150 million preferred investment for Deerfield, Illinois-based Alera Group, one of the largest property and casualty, employee benefits insurance brokers and wealth management providers in the United States. Alera is a privately-held company backed by Genstar Capital and Alera employees.

Alera plans to use proceeds from the investment to support ongoing growth and acquisition activities. Since inception in 2017, Alera has been one of the fastest growing companies in the insurance brokerage industry and has built a leading market position with a diversified business model in support of its clients.

Alex Popov, Carlyle’s Co-Head of Illiquid Credit Strategies and Head of Carlyle’s Credit Opportunities team, said, “Alera is one of the fastest growing insurance brokers in the country and we are pleased to provide the long-term capital it needs to continue building a best-in-class platform. We leveraged our expertise in insurance brokerage and an existing relationship with Genstar to structure a customized financing solution for Alera in an otherwise challenging economic environment.”

Alan Levitz, Alera’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “Carlyle’s financial strength, experience in our industry and reputation for being a trusted partner to the companies in which it invests made them a logical choice for us as we added capital to continue the growth of our business. We look forward to working with Carlyle as we continue to create value for our clients, our employees and both our internal and external investors.”

David Graham, Director of Debt Capital Markets at Genstar, said, “This preferred investment represents a significant next step in Alera’s growth trajectory, and we are excited about adding Carlyle’s expertise and capital to the organization. This transaction will be invaluable to Alan and the Alera team as they continue to drive organic growth and evaluate strategic acquisitions.”

Carlyle’s Global Credit segment made the investment with capital from its Credit Opportunities Fund, a $2.4 billion fund that closed last year. An 18-person team based in New York and London is dedicated to the fund, which invests in privately negotiated capital solutions primarily for upper middle market borrowers, including both private equity sponsored and family or entrepreneur-owned companies. The fund has invested $1.9 billion of capital since inception and seeks to benefit from proprietary investment opportunities originating from within Carlyle and the firm’s global resources and operating expertise. Carlyle’s Global Credit platform and the Credit Opportunities team have deep expertise in the insurance brokerage sector having invested in a number of insurance platforms in recent years.

* * * * *

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across four business segments: Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $221 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2020, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,800 people in 31 offices across six continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. Follow The Carlyle Group on Twitter @OneCarlyle.

About Genstar Capital
Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for over 30 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar currently has approximately $19 billion of assets under management and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the financial services, healthcare, industrial, and software industries.

About Alera Group
Headquartered in Deerfield, IL, Alera Group serves thousands of clients nationally in employee benefits, property and casualty, retirement services and wealth management. Alera Group has over 100 locations and 1,800 employees across the U.S. The company’s mission is to create an unrivaled client experience by providing best practices, thought leadership, and smarter strategies, fueled by fierce national collaboration and trusted local delivery. For more information, visit www.aleragroup.com or follow Alera Group on Twitter: @AleraGroupUS

Media Contacts

The Carlyle Group
Christa Zipf
Phone: +1-347-621-8967
Christa.Zipf@carlyle.com

Genstar Capital
Contact: Chris Tofalli
Chris Tofalli Public Relations
914-834-4334
chris@tofallipr.com

Alera Group
Michael Gluck
Vice President of Marketing and Communications
847-457-3098
Michael.Gluck@AleraGroup.com