Sapiens International Corp. has agreed to snatch up StoneRiver Inc. for $102 million in cash – one of the larger recent acquisitions in the insurance software and services space.

Plans call for concluding the deal by the end of the 2017 first quarter, according to the company announcement. Sapiens added the deal will be accretive to earnings beginning with the 2017 third quarter.

StoneRiver sells software and services to insurance carriers, agents and broker-dealers, with a focus on front-office, policy, claims, rating, underwriting, billing and reinsurance automation for all major business lines. Sapiens sells software products to the insurance industry, though it is diversifying into the financial services sector. Sapien’s focus is on a wide range of areas including general insurance, property/casualty, life, pension and annuities, reinsurance and retirement markets, as well as business decision management software.

Roni Al-Dor, Sapiens’ president and CEO, said the acquisition gives Sapiens a much bigger stake in the North American market. Sapiens, a global company, is based in Israel, while StoneRiver is headquartered in Denver, Colo.

“Joining forces with StoneRiver significantly expands Sapiens’ presence and scale in the North American Insurance industry, and specifically helps us further accelerate our growing market footprint in the U.S. [property/casualty insurance] space,” Al-Dor said in prepared remarks.

He added that the acquisition fits with Sapiens’ M&A growth strategy, which has a goal of “growing our customer base, expanding geographically and adding complementary [products] to our portfolio.”

Al-Dor also noted that Sapiens has completed eight acquisitions so far in the last six years.

Gary Anderson, StoneRiver, president and CEO, said in prepared remarks that the acquisition will help “open up new opportunities for our employees and partners.”

StoneRiver, a private company generated non-GAAP full-year 2016 revenues reached $80 million, and the company is profitable, Sapiens said.

StoneRiver sells software and services to insurance carriers, agents and broker-dealers, with a focus on front-office, policy, claims, rating, underwriting, billing and reinsurance automation for all major business lines. Sapiens sells software products to the insurance industry, though it is diversifying into the financial services sector. Sapiens’ focus is on a wide range of areas including general insurance, property/casualty, life, pension and annuities, reinsurance and retirement markets, as well as business decision management software.

Source: Sapiens