Pet insurance provider expanding in Europe

Pet insurance provider Trupanion has entered into an agreement to acquire Royal Blue s.r.o, the parent company of PetExpert. This acquisition will be the second in Europe for Trupanion, following acquisition of Smart Paws.

Veterinary-centric PetExpert provides pet insurance for tens of thousands of policies with operations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. These countries are home to an estimated 1300 veterinary hospitals, of which more than 95% have connectivity to the PetExpert platform, according to Trupanion.

“We are excited to bring together our like-minded businesses, allowing us to collectively work to eliminate the financially burdensome reimbursement model in Europe and enable pet owners and veterinarians to focus on quality of care over financial considerations,” said Simon Wheeler, EVP of International at Trupanion, in an organizational news release.

PetExpert cofounders Derek Cummins, CEO, and Jan Moravec, CTO, said they were thrilled to be joining Trupanion. “We share the same entrepreneurial culture and passion to help as many pet parents as possible provide the very best veterinary medical care for their pets. At the helm of PetExpert, Jan and I look forward to accelerating Trupanion’s expansion across Europe and beyond,” Cummins said in the Trupanion release.

While the acquisition of PetExpert will broaden Trupanion’s European footprint into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Wheeler noted that the company also expects expansion into Belgium and Poland in the coming months. No further details were provided.

According to said Margi Tooth, president of Trupanion, the company’s work to expand internationally is a key part of a 60-month plan. “We believe that continental Europe’s underpenetrated market holds great opportunity for our high-coverage Trupanion product, with its unique support for pet parents and the veterinary community alike, to distinguish itself as the product of choice,” Tooth said in the release.

The transaction with Royal Blue s.r.o. and PetExpert is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022 and no additional terms were disclosed. Trupanion does not anticipate a material financial impact to its 2022 financial results because of this acquisition.

Reference

Trupanion signs agreement to acquire PetExpert, continuing European expansion. Trupanion. November 3, 2022. Accessed November 9, 2022. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/11/03/2548328/0/en/Trupanion-Signs-Agreement-to-Acquire-PetExpert-Continuing-European-Expansion.html