White Mountains signs new strategic partnership

White Mountains Insurance Group has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Easterly Partners Group, an asset management holding company that owns stakes in third-party asset management businesses.

Under the terms of the agreement, White Mountains will provide growth capital to enable Easterly Partners Group to accelerate its business development. White Mountains may also commit its investment assets to the strategies and products of Easterly Partners Group's existing and new affiliates and/or additional capital to acquire, jointly with Easterly Partners Group, stakes in other third-party asset managers.

"The agreement with White Mountains will support our existing affiliates with capital formation, product development and enterprise value creation and will enable us to invest in additional outstanding firms. We are uniquely positioned to deliver on the promise of growth that all of our affiliates desire," said Darrell Crate, one of Easterly Partners Group's three managing principals. "We look forward to working with the White Mountains management team, who has a long track record of successful investing in the financial services sector."

Manning Rountree, chief executive officer of White Mountains, added, "We entered into this partnership with Easterly Partners Group because of its sector leadership and demonstrated track record of building enterprise value for asset managers. We have known the team for a long time, and we are delighted to join forces. We see opportunities to expand our asset management activities selectively, and we look forward to working with Easterly Partners Group to do so."

Crate's previous experience includes serving as chief financial officer of Affiliated Managers Group. During Crate's time as CFO, AMG invested in or partnered with 27 investment firms. AMG's assets under management grew from $50 billion to more than $320 billion, and AMG's valuation increased from $450 million to $6 billion.