Silvervine

Background

Founded in 1996, as Information Distribution & Marketing, Inc., Silvervine is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance administration software.

Its customers include regional insurance companies and Managing General Agents (MGAs). The company is the P&C insurance software solution of choice for more than 50 carriers and MGAs.

Since its founding, Silvervine has provided one of the most complete automated policy administration systems available. In addition to its software business, Silvervine also has a services arm called Primoris that provides back office services such as payment processing, print fulfillment, and data hosting.

Challenges

Over the years, Silvervine’s leadership had entertained several offers but was unable to find a suitable buyer until Volaris Group came along. Potential acquirers included private equity firms and larger players in Silvervine’s industry. However, none of them proved to be the right fit. Silvervine had no interest in being bought out by a private equity firm that would overhaul the business, nor did it want to be acquired by a big player that would simply engulf the company.

Volaris has helped us grow as a company, not just financially, but also culturally. They have been instrumental in helping us develop ourselves and others, giving us improved succession planning to build leaders who will grow within our business and across the enterprise. The leadership model that Volaris has demonstrated has helped confirm that every team member of the business unit is our key to success.

— Mark Waite, Managing Director, Silvervine

The Decision to Sell

Following initial meetings between Volaris and Silvervine, it became clear that a sale to Volaris was the best option. Volaris’ acquisition philosophy of keeping its acquired businesses as autonomous entities under pre-existing management aligned well with Silvervine’s goals. The sale of Silvervine to Volaris made it possible to have a liquidity event for shareholders while maintaining continuity at the company and allowing the leadership to keep control of the organization.

Volaris has offered the consulting experience we needed to build actionable steps to achieve long-term, sustainable success. Leadership is best modeled from the top, and leadership within Volaris has exemplified this model numerous times. We now focus on growing employees through personal growth, offering tangible opportunities, and monitoring their value through engagement. Our company functions more effectively by building cohesive leadership teams, thereby establishing real clarity among our leaders and team members due to the input, direction, and consultancy provided by Volaris.

— Mark Waite, Managing Director, Silvervine

Post-Acquisition Success

A couple of years following the acquisition, Mark Waite was appointed as Silvervine’s Managing Director. Since joining the company in 2000, Waite had held many roles at Silvervine which made him the ideal fit to lead as Managing Director. Today, Waite feels that the acquisition has given him a new perspective on how to efficiently manage the business in a much more profitable way.

Since joining Volaris, Silvervine has drastically increased its customer support strategies because of its collaboration with the Volaris team, which has offered a degree of expertise Silvervine would otherwise not have. While the day-to-day cash flow and financial backing post-acquisition have helped bring comfort and stability, the benefits Silvervine has experienced have gone far beyond financial support. The company’s leadership and employees have been offered opportunities that have increased their confidence and allowed them to strategically grow their business – all while helping their customers achieve their business objectives.

Additionally, before Volaris, Silvervine had a lot of overhead and was unable to support its employees in a way the company felt was required. The human resource expertise offered by Volaris has helped the company not only take better care of, but also better equip, its employees with development plans and smart goals to achieve.