European Insurtech firm wefox has reportedly finalized a $170 million refinancing deal.
wefox, a European insurance tech firm established back in 2015 by Julian Teicke, is said to be finalizing a €170 million refinancing deal that has been led by private equity company Searchlight Capital Partners.
The latest deal, which reportedly includes an equity raise between €80 million and €100 million with contributions from Chrysalis and Target Global, int4ends to refinance existing bank debt as well as stabilize the insurtech firm’s business operations.
wefox explains that it operates a hybrid insurance model, bringing together in-house as well as external brokers in order to serve more than 2 million customers across European markets.
Known for using innovative tech to enhance the insurance sector, wefox has faced considerable financial challenges, which includes substantial losses in major markets such as Italy and asset sales like its carrier arm and Assona, its electric bike insurance subsidiary.
Despite these significant obstacles, the insurtech firm has been focused on maintaining profitability in markets such as the Netherlands.
This latest refinancing update comes after wefox’s previous Series D funding of $400 million back in 2022, which valued the business at $4.5 billion, and a $650 million investment round in 2021.
But the present valuation has dropped below the $1 billion marking, resulting in a loss of unicorn status.
Backers of wefox reportedly include Mubadala, Barclays, and J.P. Morgan.
As covered in December of last year, wefox is reported a big change. The Germany-based Insurtech has reportedly reached an agreement with a group of Swiss companies led by the independent Swiss pension service provider BERAG on the sale of Liechtenstein-based Wefox Insurance AG.
As announced in June of this year, the Liechtenstein-domiciled insurance carrier wefox Insurance AG is “no longer part of wefox’s core business.”
wefox has now agreed to sell the insurance company to “a group of Swiss companies led by BERAG.”
BERAG is an independent Swiss provider of pension services and in recent years has “represented wefox Insurance AG as an MGA in Switzerland and built up the daily sickness benefits business.”
Following the streamlining of the insurance company’s portfolio, it is now focusing on “collective insurance for daily sickness benefits.”
According to the announcement, this ensures continuity for the customers of wefox Insurance AG. wefox and BERAG are “committed to making this transition as smooth as possible.”
As clarified in the update, there will be no change for existing daily sickness benefits contracts, the operational processes will “remain the same and BERAG will remain the point of contact for brokers and customers in Switzerland.”