Aussie unicorn founder Chris Bayley kicks off $600m roll-up with Auto Europe buy
The co-founder of insurance technology unicorn Cover Genius said he wants his new strategy to hit a total value of USD1 billion ($1.53 billion) within five years.
The man who started one of the country’s most successful startups of the last decade – insurance technology outfit Cover Genius which achieved unicorn status in 2021 – has fired up a USD400 million ($610 million) acquisition spree with the buyout of Europe's largest rental car agency Auto Europe.
Chris Bayley, who co-founded Cover Genius in Sydney in 2014, said the deal marks the launch of a multi-acquisition roll-up of online travel agencies (OTAs), led by his new investment vehicle Deck2 Capital in 50-50 partnership with a consortium of New York-based credit funds.
Auto Europe is expected to be the first and largest acquisition under the investment strategy, which is targeting USD400 million in enterprise value from that deal plus “three to five” more within two-and-a-half years. Bayley also has a five-year goal to scale the portfolio to more than USD1 billion.
“My view is that if a company is making most of its money out of insurance then it’s an insurance company,” he told Capital Brief.
