Patriot Risk Management files IPO
Nov 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 10:29am EST | Modified: Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 10:32am
South Florida Business Journal – by Susan R. Miller
Patriot Risk Management has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public.
The Fort Lauderdale-based insurance holding company is seeking to raise up to $189 million.
The six-year-old company said in its SEC filing that it has entered into a letter of intent to acquire PF&C, a shell property and casualty insurance company. If the purchase goes through, the company said it would use $16.2 million toward the purchase.
Some of the money also would be used to pay off a loan from Patriot Chairman and CEO Steven M. Mariano, as well as pay down other debt and the balance of its credit facilities.
The company provides workers’ compensation insurance through its subsidiaries Guarantee Insurance Co. and Patriot Underwriters.
Patriot initially announced plans for an IPO in 2008, but put them on hold as the economy turned sour.
Since then, it has focused on growing its business. In an interview with the Business Journal before Monday’s filing, a company spokesman said there are plans to add 30 to 35 new jobs at its downtown Fort Lauderdale headquarters. There also are plans to add a smaller number of jobs at its offices in Sarasota, Orlando, Philadelphia and St. Louis, Mo. Some of the money raised would go toward that expansion.
“We are recruiting people and looking to increase office space from 7,000 to 20,000 square feet,” said Dean Watters, executive VP of business development.
He said the company will be looking for underwriters and case managers, along with marketing and IT people.
Patriot occupies office space in three downtown Fort Lauderdale buildings, and may add space at one of the three or look for new office space, Watters noted.
The company employs 200 full-time and 30 temporary workers. Of them, 160 are based in Florida.
The company also is looking to add offices in California and in the Midwest, Watters said.
“We plan to expand our business in states where we believe we can profitably write business,” the company stated in its IPO filing.
The company said in its filing that revenue for the six months ended June 30 was $27.2 million, up from $24.1 million in the prior-year period. Its net income for the six-month period was $1.76 million, down slightly from $1.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
In July, Patriot said that, for the quarter ended June 30, its total gross premiums written and managed totaled about $31 million, up 54 percent from the same period a year ago.
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