Firstance (Nextalia) Acquires 100% of the Gatsby & White Insurance Platform

Firstance (formerly First Advisory), an insurtech insurance broker controlled by Nextalia sgr , has signed a binding agreement for the purchase of 100% of Gatsby & White, a technological platform active in the distribution of insurance solutions for the market of wealth management in Europe.

The founding partners of Gatsby & White, Juan Lozano , Benno Vegers and Serge Krancenblum, and the key managers led by CEO Pieter Coopmans, will reinvest a significant portion of their proceeds in Firstance, ensuring full continuity for customers and partners.

As part of the operation, Firstance was assisted by Chiomenti and Arendt & Medernach for the corporate legal aspects, by Latham & Watkins as financing legal advisor and by Deloitte for the financial, tax and legal due diligence activities. Gatsby & White availed itself of the support of PwC Luxembourg as M&A advisor and of Vertumnus for the legal aspects.

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Firstance has over €27.1 billion of intermediated assets

Gatsby & White is an independent and private insurance brokerage platform that holds a leading position in the market for cross-border wealth solutions (at European level, with direct presence in Luxembourg, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Monaco and Spain).

As for Firstance, it was founded in 2010 by Massimiliano Merlo , Giuseppe Frascà , Lorenzo Fanti and Renato Lot. In May 2020 the Italian Strategy private equity fund of Riello Investimenti sgr had acquired 51% of the company’s capital, and then exited it in March 2022 to Nextalia, which acquired 60%.

Currently, Firstance has over €27.1 billion of intermediated assets and collaboration agreements with over 60 of the main private banking divisions, wealth management operators and family offices, to which it offers access to a proprietary open architecture technological platform with a wide range of private insurance solutions, offered by 27 Italian and European insurance companies .

The position was also achieved through acquisitions. In particular, in October 2020, Life & Wealth , an independent broker specializing in life insurance, with intermediated assets of over €3 billion was acquired. While in November 2022 the company acquired 100% of Farad Insurance Broker Italia srl ​​(FIBI), an independent insurance intermediary active in the private insurance segment and among the main Italian players in the brokerage of insurance solutions for the wealth management market. Firstance closed 2022 with revenues of €53.2 million, an Ebitda of €6.6 million and a net debt of €19.4 million.

The union of the two entities will create a leading European company in the intermediation of insurance solutions for the wealth management market, with over 33 billion euros of intermediated assets, a direct presence in Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Monaco and Spain. The group will have a team of over 80 professionals, constantly growing and with consolidated know-how, and a state-of-the-art proprietary technological platform capable of guaranteeing the automation and digitalisation of processes relating to the distribution and intermediation of private insurance products.

Juan Lozano, Benno Vegers and Serge Krancenblum, founding partners of Gatsby & White, commented: “We are excited about the next chapter in the entrepreneurial journey we began over 10 years ago. This marks the creation of a unique international intermediation platform, based on technology and detailed knowledge of the different markets. Our synergies are based on the complementarity of our strengths and on the shared values ​​of trust and mutual respect. We are convinced that this alignment of values ​​will be fundamental to a successful integration process, fostering a cohesive corporate culture.”

And Pieter Coopmans, CEO of Gatsby & White, added: “This union represents a key step in creating the first truly international, multi-jurisdictional private insurance solutions brokerage platform . The complementarity of skills, markets served and business models represent solid foundations to best serve our customers and partners with the best solutions available.”

Massimiliano Merlo, founder & CEO of Firstance, concluded: “Today the undisputed leader at European level in the intermediation of private insurance solutions is born. We have known and respected Gatsby & White for years and are excited to join forces to better serve our customers and partners across Europe. This acquisition represents a milestone in our international expansion plan: together with Gatsby & White, we aim to become the reference intermediation platform for our clients and partners, leveraging superior know-how, best practices shared in both entities and on a strong local presence in each of the main wealth management centers in Europe, with the opportunity to bring our technological know-how to Gatsby & White.”

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