Clairvest Sponsors the Merger of Rogers Insurance and CapriCMW to form Acera Insurance

Clairvest Group Inc. (TSX: CVG) (“CVG”) today announced that it, together with Clairvest Equity Partners VI (“CEP VI”, collectively “Clairvest”) made a C$100 million minority equity investment to support the merger and recapitalization of Alberta-based Rogers Insurance and British Columbia-based CapriCMW Insurance Services Ltd. (“CapriCMW”). Post-close, the combined entity operates as Acera Insurance Services Ltd. (“Acera Insurance” or the “Company”).

Acera Insurance is one of the largest employee-controlled property & casualty and group benefits insurance brokerages in Canada, with offices located in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Yukon. The Company remains independent and proudly 100% Canadian-owned. Both Rogers Insurance and CapriCMW were founded over 45 years ago and have demonstrated a proven track record of success in the industry. Acera Insurance is led by CEO Lee Rogers, Chairman and President Andrew Kemp and COO Bruce Rabik.

The opportunity was originated through Clairvest’s domain work in the insurance industry. “Our domain outreach created this unique opportunity. We are thoroughly impressed by the leadership teams at Rogers Insurance and CapriCMW who have a long history of collaborating to drive growth organically and through acquisitions. We are thrilled to support the 1,000 employees and over 350 shareholder partners of Acera Insurance through the next phase of growth by investing in people, technology and acquisitions to further enhance the Company’s capabilities,” said Mitch Green, Managing Director of Clairvest.

“Clairvest’s partnership style and culture are a great fit with Acera Insurance. We see them as an ideal partner as they bring a wealth of industry knowledge and experience helping entrepreneurs build great businesses. Their investment will provide us with both the financial flexibility and resources to fuel the Company’s exciting growth initiatives,” said Lee Rogers, CEO of Acera Insurance.

“The merger and recapitalization supported by Clairvest will accelerate our investments in people, processes, and technology. Our goal is to become the independent Canadian insurance brokerage of choice for clients, carriers and employees. I am delighted to work alongside Lee and Bruce to build a platform of strategic significance,” said Andrew Kemp, Chairman and President of Acera Insurance.

The merger was supported by credit facilities arranged by the Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal.

The Clairvest / CEP VI co-investment pool is capitalized at US$850 million and focuses on equity investments in growth companies.

About ClairvestClairvest’s mission is to partner with entrepreneurs to help them build strategically significant businesses. Founded in 1987 by a group of successful Canadian entrepreneurs, Clairvest is a top performing private equity management firm with over CAD $3.2 billion of capital under management. Clairvest invests its own capital and that of third parties through the Clairvest Equity Partners limited partnerships in owner-led businesses. Under the current management team, Clairvest has initiated investments in 59 different platform companies and generated top quartile performance over an extended period.

Contact InformationStephanie LoManager, Investor Relations and MarketingClairvest Group Inc.Tel: (416) [e-mail]