Partners Group, a global private markets firm, has announced a 120 basis points (bps) EBITDA margin uplift at its portfolio company Foundation Risk Partners (FRP), a US insurance brokerage, through an AI transformation program. The program, delivered in collaboration with Version 1, another Partners Group portfolio company, represents USD 10 million in financial impact and highlights the potential for AI-driven value creation within private equity portfolios.
FRP, founded in 2017, employs over 3,000 people across 68 locations. The company built a proprietary, policy-level dataset that served as the foundation for the AI initiative. Leveraging this data, Version 1's AI Labs developed two agentic AI solutions. The first solution reduces the average policy processing cycle for new clients by 94%, leading to a doubling in close rates. The second automates the human-intensive policy checking task, further streamlining operations. The program was executed by a seven-person team augmented by Version 1, with the first use case moving from concept to production in just 14 weeks.
Partners Group acquired both FRP and Version 1 in 2022, citing strong tailwinds in the US insurance brokerage sector and the AI-first digital transformation services market in the UK and Ireland. Since then, both companies have performed strongly, with each doubling their revenues. This collaboration exemplifies how Partners Group leverages synergies within its portfolio to create tangible value.
Wolf Scheider, Head of Private Equity at Partners Group, commented: "We have delivered synergies within our own portfolio to create tangible value, in this case pairing a US insurance brokerage with an AI technology partner in the UK and Ireland. Through this, we have turned a clean dataset into USD 10 million EBITDA uplift and real, measurable growth. We continue to look for opportunities to leverage AI expertise across our portfolio companies."
This announcement underscores the growing importance of AI in private equity value creation. By combining operational expertise with advanced technology, firms like Partners Group can drive significant margin improvements and competitive advantages. The success at FRP illustrates a replicable model for integrating AI across portfolio companies, potentially influencing how private equity firms approach digital transformation in the future.
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