Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY) has announced the acquisition of the Collector Vehicle business from Ignyte Insurance, a Carlyle-backed portfolio company, in a transaction valued at $615m.

This collector vehicle insurance acquisition brings four names – American Collectors Insurance, J.C. Taylor Insurance, Condon Skelly and Heacock Classic – under the PHLY umbrella.

The acquired business is headquartered in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey.

With decades of experience in the collector vehicle market, these brands provide insurance for a wide array of specialty vehicles including antiques, hot rods, exotics, motorcycles and classic trucks.

Together, they serve hundreds of thousands of policyholders across the US and add more than 250 employees with significant expertise to PHLY’s specialty segment.

The acquisition complements PHLY’s long-standing partnership with the James A. Grundy Agency, based in Horsham, Pennsylvania, and provides collector vehicle coverage.

These brands have a significant presence in the greater Philadelphia area.

PHLY president and CEO John Glomb stated: “We have tremendous respect for what these collector vehicle brands have built and the trust they have earned amongst collectors. As part of PHLY, they will continue that legacy with the full strength of a leading carrier behind them, combining authenticity and expertise with innovation, superior claims support and sustainable capacity for the long term.”

Ignyte Insurance CEO Geof McKernan commented: “This is an exciting next chapter for these beloved brands. Our team, originating from NSM Insurance Group, spent years scaling these collector car programmes into market leaders. PHLY is a long-time specialty powerhouse with the resources, relationships and stability to support continued growth and investment. We are thrilled to see this business positioned for enduring success with a carrier that truly understands specialty insurance.”

Carlyle co-head of Global Financial Services Jim Burr and partner Jitij Dwivedi said: “We are proud to have partnered with Geof McKernan and the Ignyte team to build a leading specialty insurance distribution platform.

“The sale of the collector car business marks an important milestone for Ignyte and is a testament to the team’s vision and ability to create long-term value within the MGA [managing general agent] ecosystem across various complex lines of business. We look forward to continuing to work with the Ignyte team to grow the company’s remaining direct-to-consumer brands.”

Ignyte Insurance is focused on developing and scaling differentiated brands in high-growth niche markets.

The company is now speeding up its strategy to expand consumer and embedded insurance offerings globally.