NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - December 8, 2010) - Marlin & Associates ("M&A"), the boutique investment banking and strategic advisory firm, announced today that its client, Qatar Insurance Services LLC, owner of Qatarlyst S.P.C., the technology-based insurance and reinsurance trade fulfillment system based in Doha, Qatar has completed its previously announced acquisition of RI3K, the London-based pioneer and innovator of technology that supports paperless transactions for the commercial insurance and reinsurance industry. RI3K facilitates transactions for over 4,200 individual users drawn from over 290 of the world's largest and most successful blue chip insurance companies and intermediaries such as Aon, Swiss Re, and Zurich operating in London and other global insurance markets. The transaction was first announced on November 7th when Qatarlyst acquired the majority of shares in RI3K.
Marlin & Associates acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Qatar Insurance Services LLC.
Qatar Insurance Services LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFC Authority) and was established in order to play its part in achieving Qatar's stated desire to become the region's leading insurance and reinsurance centre. Qatarlyst, which provides a web-based solution for regional brokers and insurance firms to negotiate, place and accept large commercial insurance risks electronically, is expected to benefit from RI3K's interface with London and the international markets. In turn, existing RI3K customers are expected to benefit from Qatarlyst's superior functionality in areas such as Retakaful, Claims and Accounting. Launched in 2009, over 40 insurance firms in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan have been approved to use the Qatarlyst service. These include Oman Insurance, Doha Insurance and Nasco Insurance Brokers.
Headquartered in Qatar with a significant presence and investment in London, the enlarged business will connect global, regional and local markets, providing leading-edge technology designed to enable brokers, insurers and reinsurers to drive down their transactional unit cost, save valuable time and provide increased data accuracy, management information and control.
The combination of Qatarlyst and RI3K is expected to be "transformational," helping to accelerate the development of the Qatar Financial Centre in its declared ambition to become a leading hub for reinsurance in the GCC region and beyond. This acquisition also gives Qatar the opportunity to help to meet London's insurance market needs for enhanced paperless trading.
"It is an honor to have been selected to provide strategic and financial advice to a Qatari sovereign firm on an international acquisition that they have called 'transformational,'" said Ken Marlin, Founder and Managing Partner of Marlin & Associates. "This transaction highlights our extensive experience in the financial technology arena; our strong strategic capabilities and our significant international execution capabilities."
Marlin & Associates is one of the most active investment banking firms providing strategic and financial advice to worldwide buyers and sellers of middle-market technology firms. M&A's team of professionals has extensive experience having advised on more than 200 transactions involving companies that provide information and technology to a wide range of communities including those that serve the banking, capital markets, insurance, marketing and healthcare arenas. Other recent global M&A clients include Deutsche Börse; NYSE Euronext; Reed Elsevier's LexisNexis; McGraw Hill's Standard and Poor's (S&P); and SWIFT as well as a large array of firms owned by entrepreneurs, corporations, private equity and venture capital firms worldwide.
The Qatar Insurance Services LLC press release can be found at: Qatarlyst takes strategic step forward with acquisition of RI3K
About QIS and Qatarlyst
The Qatarlyst System is provided by Qatarlyst S.P.C. ("Qatarlyst"), a Single Shareholder Company incorporated in the State of Qatar and Licensed by the Qatar Ministry of Business & Trade. Qatarlyst is 100% owned by Qatar Insurance Services LLC ("QIS") which is incorporated in the QFC and Licensed by the QFC Authority to conduct Professional Services (Consulting). QIS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFC Authority). Located in Doha, Qatar, Qatarlyst has been established in order to play its part in achieving Qatar's stated desire to become the region's leading insurance and reinsurance centre. Launched in 2009, over 40 insurance firms in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan have been approved to use the Qatarlyst service. These include Oman Insurance, Doha Insurance and Nasco Insurance Brokers.
About RI3K
RI3K (Reinsurance and Insurance for the 3rd Millennium) is the privately owned paperless trading service for the insurance and reinsurance industry. RI3K allows all types and classes of large commercial insurance and facultative and treaty reinsurance to be transacted over the Internet. RI3K has over 30 staff based in London looking after a blue chip client base including AON, BMS, Aviva, RSA, Brit Insurance and Ace.
About QFC
The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) is a financial and business centre established by the Government of Qatar and located in Doha. It has been designed to attract international financial services institutions and major multi-national corporations, in particular those operating in the reinsurance, captive insurance and asset management sectors and to encourage participation in the growing market for financial services in Qatar and elsewhere in the region. The QFC operates to international standards and provides a first class legal and business infrastructure for those operating within the QFC. The QFC was created by Qatar Law No. (7) and has been open for business since 1 May 2005.
About QFC Authority
The QFC Authority is the commercial, administrative and legislative body responsible for leading the expansion of Qatar's financial services sector, providing a uniquely sustainable platform for regional growth in reinsurance, captive insurance and asset management.
About Marlin & Associates
Marlin & Associates Holding LLC is a boutique investment banking and strategic advisory firm specializing in acquisitions and divestitures of U.S. and international middle-market firms that provide technology, digital information and healthcare-related products, technology and services. The firm is headquartered in New York, NY and has additional offices in Washington, DC and Toronto, Canada. Further information can be read at www.MarlinLLC.com.
Marlin & Associates Securities LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marlin & Associates Holding LLC, is a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is a FINRA/SIPC member firm (www.finra.org). Investment banking and/or securities are offered through Marlin & Associates Securities LLC. Marlin & Associates' professionals have advised on more than 200 successfully completed transactions. Some other recent clients that Marlin & Associates has advised include:
-iSuppli of El Segundo, California, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to IHS (
-SMARTS Group of Sydney, Australia, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to NASDAQ OMX (NASDAQ: NDAQ);
- SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) of Brussels, Belgium, which Marlin & Associates advised on its acquisition of Ambit Messaging Hub from SunGard;
- Strategic Analytics of Santa Fe, New Mexico, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ: VRSK);
- Logical Information Machines, Inc. (LIM) of Chicago, Illinois, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN);
-NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) of New York, New York, which Marlin & Associates advised on the sale of its Hugin subsidiary to Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI);
- Vhayu Technologies of Los Gatos, California, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI);
- Standard & Poor's of New York, New York a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), which Marlin & Associates advised on the sale of its Vista Research subsidiary to Guidepoint Global;
- Tenfore of London, England, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN);
-LexisNexis of Dayton, Ohio, which Marlin & Associates advised on the sale of its subsidiary Mealey's Conference to Business Valuation Resources (BVR);
- InfoDyne Corp. of Park Ridge, Illinois, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM);
-Orimos of Zurich, Switzerland, which Marlin & Associates advised on its acquisition of ION Trading;
- LowerFees, Inc. of Westlake Village, California, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Bankrate, Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE);
- Netik LLC of London, England and New York, New York, which Marlin & Associates advised on its simultaneous acquisition of Capco Reference Data Services and the replacement of its primary investor, The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK), with Symphony Technology Group;
- Applied Financial Technology (AFT) of San Francisco, California, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Lender Processing Services (NYSE: LPS);
- Xcitek LLC's Market Data Division of New York, NY, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Interactive Data Corp.
Contact Information:
Contact:
Krystle Bates
Contact@MarlinLLC.com
+1 (212) 257-6300