Sherwood Broadens Offerings with Concise Acquisition

In order to broaden its suite of product offerings in the North American market, Sherwood International (Hartford), provider of software and solutions to the global insurance industry, is acquiring P&C software provider Concise Technologies Inc. (Toronto). The deal is worth CD $20 million (US $13 million).

Concise's product offerings are what attracted Sherwood to the company, according to Craig Robinson, senior vice president, marketing, North America, Sherwood International. "Sherwood is a financial services technology vendor and we offer a comprehensive suite of products," says Robinson, adding, "one of the gaps in our portfolio was a package solution for the small to mid-sized P&C marketplace." The addition of Concise's P&C policy and claims administration solution is expected to fill this opening.

Although Sherwood marketed technology to both life and P&C carriers prior to the Concise acquisition, previously the P&C offerings were limited to Sherwood's Amarta-Lines product—which, according to Robinson, was a more "expensive solution with a more tool and rules-based workflow generator." Adds Robinson, "We didn't have a packaged P&C product, so we needed Concise to fill the missing gap in the comprehensive suite for the insurance market. There is a huge part of the market that wants a tangible touch-and-feel packaged solution. We feel that we now have soup to nuts, from P&C and life, all the way through to ceded and assumed reinsurance packages."