Bain Capital Leads $238 million Growth Investment in SquareTrade

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SquareTrade, the leading independent consumer warranty provider, today announced a successful $238 million growth equity investment led by affiliates of Bain Capital, LLC that will position the company to drive the next phase of growth in the consumer warranty market. Other financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

"We are very excited to partner with SquareTrade, which is disrupting a $20+ billion global industry with its innovative approach to warranties," said Mike Krupka, a Managing Director of Bain Capital Ventures. "We were attracted by the incredibly high satisfaction levels among consumers and retailers, along with the vision  of  co-founders Steve Abernethy and Ahmed Khaishgi, and their ability to execute the plan to build the first great brand in the space," added Phil Loughlin, a Managing Director of Bain Capital Partners.  The investment is being made jointly by the firm's private equity and venture capital affiliates. 

Based in San Francisco, SquareTrade offers a branded warranty focused on delivering great value and no-hassle service for consumers.  SquareTrade's commitment to delivering an exceptional customer experience has yielded excellent consumer ratings that are easily researched online. Customers can buy warranties directly from www.squaretrade.com, as well as through more than 30 retailers and marketplaces.

The investment caps a successful 2011 for SquareTrade, which saw sales nearly triple year over year, and the addition of some of the largest national and global retailers who are offering the company's warranty services to their customers. SquareTrade said it expects triple-digit revenue growth again in 2012.

"SquareTrade has been profitable and growing rapidly for several years, and we have been approached by many top investment firms.  We concluded that Bain Capital is the ideal partner to help us continue growing SquareTrade into the premier brand in the category," stated Abernethy, who serves as CEO.  "We have a long term view of investing in service, technology and brand awareness to make SquareTrade uniquely high value,  easy to research and  easy to use. Bain Capital shares the vision, and has the resources and consumer service and retail experience to help us realize our potential."

SquareTrade's prior investors include Weston Presidio Capital and JP Morgan Partners. Financial Technology Partners LP served as exclusive financial and strategic advisors to SquareTrade.

About SquareTrade

Founded in 1999, SquareTrade offers warranties that make sense, with fair prices and no-hassle service. The company boasts millions of customers who have consistently rated the warranty service 5-star reviews. SquareTrade was named one of PC Magazine's Top 100 Websites of 2010, is the winner of the 2011 Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service, and the 2011 Golden Bridge Award for Best Customer Service. SquareTrade is privately held and headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit SquareTrade.com or find SquareTrade on Facebook.

About Bain Capital

Bain Capital, LLC ( www.baincapital.com) is a global private investment firm that manages several pools of capital including private equity, venture capital, public equity, high-yield assets and mezzanine capital with approximately $60 billion in assets under management.  Bain Capital has a team of over 350 professionals dedicated to investing and to supporting its portfolio companies.  Since its inception in 1984, Bain Capital has made private equity investments and add-on acquisitions in over 450 companies in a variety of industries around the world.  Bain Capital Ventures (www.baincapitalventures.com) manages $2 billion of assets and has over 70 active portfolio companies.  Bain Capital has a long history of investing in branded technology and consumer service companies, such as Bluestem Brands (Fingerhut), Bright Horizons, DoubleClick, Lala, LinkedIn, Michaels, Rent The Runway, Shopping.com, Skillsoft, Staples, Survey Monkey and Toys R Us.  The firm has offices in Boston, Palo Alto, New York, Chicago, London, Munich, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Mumbai.  

SOURCE SquareTrade