HealthPlan Holdings, Inc. Acquires Zenith Administrators

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthPlan Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of outsourced solutions to insurers in the individual, union trust and voluntary benefits markets, announced today that it has acquired Zenith Administrators, Inc.  The company will merge Zenith with its subsidiary, American Benefit Plan Administrators, Inc. (ABPA).  The combination creates a leading national third-party administrator of health care, retirement and other benefits to Taft-Hartley trust funds, and state and municipal plans.

Together, ABPA and Zenith will have more than 1,200 employees dedicated to providing benefit administration services to nearly 2 million plan participants across the country.  The newly merged companies will offer customers the broadest range of services to administer benefits and manage compliance requirements associated with their Taft-Hartley plans.  In addition, ABPA and Zenith will have a significantly greater geographic presence to provide customers with localized expertise and support.

"This acquisition enables our companies to offer the industry's most comprehensive administration solutions that can be customized to meet our clients' unique requirements for all aspects of their benefit programs.  As one organization, we are committed to investing our collective expertise and resources to enhance our services for the future.  Our goal is to support our clients with managing the increasingly complex regulatory issues and rising costs associated with their benefit programs," said Jeff Bak, president and chief executive officer, HealthPlan.  

Together, Zenith and ABPA will offer customers more than 120 years of experience in Taft-Hartley benefit plan administration.  Art Schultz will serve as chief executive officer of the combined company.  He previously was executive vice president and chief operating officer of HealthPlan Services.  John Corapi will continue to serve as president of Zenith.

"Our two companies are highly regarded for our focus on our clients," said Mr. Corapi.  "This merger poises our companies to leverage our combined expertise to accomplish much more on behalf of our clients.  Together, we have the best resources available to address the increasingly complicated technical and compliance issues related to Taft-Hartley benefit plans."

Since its founding in 1986, Zenith has expanded to 25 offices across the United States. The company is comprised of seven regional third-party administrators that were independently owned and operated prior to the company's inception.  One was established as early as 1944.  

HealthPlan has grown to become the nation's largest independent company providing outsourced solutions to insurers focused on the individual, union trust and voluntary benefits markets.  Since partnering with Water Street Healthcare Partners, a strategic private equity firm focused exclusively on health care, HealthPlan has expanded through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions.  In the past year, it has doubled its members under administration, as well as its revenues.

"The merger of ABPA and Zenith is a transformational combination that creates a market leader in Taft-Hartley and public benefits plan administration," said Max Mishkin, vice president, Water Street.  "Since our investment three years ago, our team has partnered with the management team to strategically build HealthPlan into a leading organization that offers a continuum of solutions to support its clients in the evolving health reform environment."

About American Benefit Plan Administrators, Inc.

American Benefit Plan Administrators, Inc. (ABPA), a subsidiary of HealthPlan Holdings, Inc., specializes in providing administrative services for employee benefit plans on a national basis. ABPA was founded in 1951 to assist labor and management in the development and ongoing administration of benefit plans initiated as a result of the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act.   For more information, visit www.abpa.com.

About Zenith Administrators

Zenith has been providing quality administrative services since 1944. With 25 offices across the country, Zenith manages health and pension plans as a third-party benefits administrator (TPA) serving 500,000 health plan participants, managing more than 4 million claims each year and 600,000 retirement plan participants for Taft-Hartley trust funds, trade associations, government entities and corporate employers. For more information, visit www.zenithadmin.com.

About Water Street

Water Street is a strategic private equity firm focused exclusively on health care.  The firm has a strong record of building market-leading companies across key growth sectors in health care.  It has worked with some of the world's leading health care companies on its investments including Gentiva, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic and Smith & Nephew.  Water Street's team is comprised of industry executives and private equity professionals with decades of experience investing in and operating global health care businesses.  The firm is headquartered in Chicago.  For more information about Water Street, visit www.wshp.com.

www.healthplan.com

SOURCE HealthPlan Holdings, Inc.