People Corporation announced on Nov. 29 its acquisition of the Apri Group of Companies, a group benefits consulting firm and MGA

The purchase price was $45.0 million, subject to post-closing adjustments.

People Corporation said Apri’s principals will continue to run the operations as part of their company and its management team and employees will become part of the People Corporation group of companies, and its platforms will continue in their current form.

“This Transaction adds significantly to People Corporation’s national distribution platform,” said Laurie Goldberg, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of People Corporation. “It immediately establishes us as one of the largest group benefits focused MGAs in Canada and adds meaningfully to our national group benefits consulting operations, in particular growing our presence in the GTA, Vancouver and Calgary.”

Serves 600 group benefits advisors

Apri serves over 600 businesses across Canada, and GroupQuest, its MGA, currently serves approximately 600 group benefits advisors. Apri has also developed the JungoHR platform, offering a human resources information system focused on mid-sized and enterprise-level businesses. People’s Corporation said the platform will complement its recent acquisition of Collage Technologies Inc.

“In our discussions with People Corporation we have been impressed with the team, as well as its platform and vision, which are aligned with our own philosophy and approach to the market and the clients that we serve,” said Darwyne Lang, founder and CEO of Apri. “We have built a business with substantial long-term competitive advantages and we see significant opportunity through this partnership to be able to offer our clients and third-party brokers market-leading, group-focused solutions and bring our experience and expertise to leverage across the organization, while expanding our combined footprint across Canada to service and support plan sponsors, plan members and brokers across all markets.”