JAB to create a “leading” Pan-European pet insurance platform

The acquisition of 100% of the shares of Agila and Veterina is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022 and is subject to the customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

JAB’s European pet insurance platform, Pinnacle Pet Group, has announced it will acquire 100% of the shares in Agila, the German market leader in pet insurance, from the Wertgarantie Group. In return, the Wertgarantie Group will become an investor in Pinnacle.

Following this agreement, Patrick Döring, CEO of the Wertgarantie Group and outgoing CEO of Agila, will join the board of Pinnacle as the Group’s representative.

JAB also announced the signing of a definitive agreement through which Pinnacle will acquire 100% of the shares in the Dutch pet insurance business Veterfina. As part of the agreement, CEO Nico Schuurbiers will continue in his current role and maintain a minority stake in Pinnacle alongside co-founder Han de Groot.

Both transactions are expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022 and are subject to the customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. No financial details were disclosed.

Belgium and France

JAB’s intention is to grow Pinnacle into a leading Pan-European platform for animal insurance through organic growth and these strategic investments.

Regarding the investment in Agila, all employees at the Hanover headquarters will join the pet insurance platform to play a “key role in Pinnacle’s expansion.”

“The strategic partnership between Pinnacle, JAB and Wertgarantie Group will transform the prospects for Agila,” noted Wertgarantie CEO Patrick Döring. “Over the last 25 years we have demonstrated that we can deliver above market growth in the German and Austrian pet insurance markets. With JAB’s financial strength and support, Pinnacle is an ideal long-term partner as we look to accelerate the growth of our business.”

Pinnacle will also provide growth equity to accelerate the European expansion and development of Veterfina’s multi-brand and omni-channel strategy. This will include the introduction of FIGO, JAB’s direct-to-consumer pet insurance brand and digital platform, to European markets.

“Veterfina has a strong customer base and excellent product offerings in the Netherlands with a growing pan-European offering, which we will build on as we look to expand into new markets such as Belgium and France,” stated Joachim Creus, Managing Partner at JAB and Chairman of the JAB pet insurance platform.

According to the executive, the holding company is also planning “significant” further investments in the pet insurance market in Europe.

JAB recently acquired Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group and Pethealth in a $1.4 bilion (€1.39B) deal.