Abry Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm has made a growth investment in Socius Insurance Services Inc., an independently-owned management liability and property/casualty insurance wholesaler.  Abry is making the investment in partnership with the company’s CEO Patrick Hanley and senior management.

Hanley commented, “We see tremendous opportunity ahead and look forward to our partnership with the team at Abry who have extensive experience in supporting the growth and expansion efforts of other leading firms like ours. In particular, we look forward to their guidance and expertise as we identify M&A opportunities that will enhance our position as a leading independent broker, including expanding our geography, broadening our product offerings, and enhancing customer service.”

Nathan Ott, partner at Abry, said, “Abry has been very successful in identifying attractive insurance investment opportunities and partnering with leading insurance industry executives like Patrick to help create category leaders.  We believe Socius is extremely well positioned to capitalize on the tailwinds within the hard-to-place surplus lines market and we look forward to supporting Patrick and his extremely talented team during their continued growth both organically and through our collective M&A pipelines.

This latest platform investment by Abry is consistent with the firm’s strategy of partnering with founders and entrepreneurs in the insurance sector.  Socius adds to Abry’s current and former investments in insurance companies, including its acquisition this year of full-service insurance brokerage High Street Insurance Partners. Other investments include specialist insurer ERS; Hilb, a property and casualty insurance and employee benefits broker serving predominantly small to medium sized business; Acrisure, a P&C insurance and employee benefits brokerage; and NSM Group, a privately held P&C Managing General Agencies in the U.S.

Marsh, Berry & Company Inc. acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Socius Insurance Services, Inc.  Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Abry.