The Benecon Group, has sold a minority stake to the private equity arm of New York-based investment giant Neuberger Berman.
- Terms of the transaction — described as “a significant minority investment” — were not disclosed.
- A Neuberger spokesperson declined to comment beyond the press release.
- Neuberger joins an ownership group that includes majority owner TA Associates, a Boston-based private equity firm that invested in Benecon three years ago.
- “We look forward to working with TA Associates and Neuberger Berman. Their investment affirms the strength of the platform and our future growth potential,” Benecon president and CEO Matthew Kirk said in a statement.
- In an interview with biznewsPA, Benecon founder Samuel N. Lombardo said he remains a minority investor in the company he started more than 30 years ago.
- The firm helps small and middle-market companies create self-funded health insurance plans.
The investors: Neuberger manages about $463 billion in assets, including about $89 billion in private equity.
- TA Associates has invested in the likes of Legalzoom and Amplify Snack Brands, which is now part of The Hershey Co.
The background: Lombardo opened the forerunner to Benecon, S.N. Lombardo Insurance Agency, in 1977.
- Benecon formed in 1997 following a merger between the agency and another Lombardo venture, Inter-Municipal Insurance Services, founded in 1991.
- The company has grown thanks to increasing demand among employers for self-funded health insurance options (as opposed to buying insurance from a traditional carrier).
- Benecon now does business in most U.S. states.
- “Benecon is going to be a major player in the health care industry,” said Lombardo, who is Benecon’s chairman emeritus.
