Mergers &
Acquisitions

The insurance and cryptocurrency sectors saw major moves this week as Verisk strengthens its insurance tech platform while Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company announces plans to become a public bitcoin holding giant.

1. Verisk Acquires SuranceBay for $162.5 Million

Verisk (NASDAQ: VRSK) has signed an agreement to acquire SuranceBay in a deal valued at over $162 million in cash. The deal comes as Verisk doubles down on automating insurance transactions, planning to integrate SuranceBay's technologies into its FAST platform to strengthen its position in life insurance technology.

A key driver of this deal is Verisk's ability to incorporate SuranceBay's SureLC agency management platform into FAST, addressing one of the industry's biggest pain points - inefficient connections between carriers and distributors. SureLC enables seamless licensing, contracting, and full life cycle management for insurance producers.

With digital transformation demand at all-time highs, this acquisition positions Verisk as a dominant force in insurance tech. While the price tag represents just a fraction of Verisk's $42+ billion market cap, the strategic value could be significant. Investors will get more details when Verisk reports Q2 earnings on July 30th.

Acquirer: Verisk Analytics (Jersey City, New Jersey)
Target: SuranceBay (Boca Raton, Florida)
Deal Value: ~$162,500,000 (All-cash)
Announcement Date: July 17^th, 2025
Verisk Market Cap: $42,230,000,000
Acquirer Advisors: Not Disclosed
Target Advisors: Not Disclosed

Summary

• Strategic move to dominate insurance automation space
• Integrates best-in-class agency management platform
• Comes during peak demand for insurance digitalization

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2. Bitcoin Standard Treasury to Go Public via Cantor Merger

Bitcoin pioneer Adam Back is launching Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR) through a merger with Cantor Equity Partners I (NASDAQ: CEPO). The deal will create a new public company holding over 30,000 BTC (worth ~$3.5 billion), instantly making it the 4th-largest corporate bitcoin holder.

The entity combines 25,000 BTC from founding shareholders with 5,000 BTC from early investors. BSTR plans to raise an additional $1.5 billion through a PIPE offering consisting of $400 million in equity, $750 million in convertible notes, and $350 million in preferred stock.

The strategy mirrors Michael Saylor's approach at MicroStrategy, with potential to climb to 3rd-largest public BTC holder. Following the announcement, CEPO stock initially dipped 8% but rebounded 20% from pre-leak levels as investors digested the opportunity.

Merging Parties: Cantor Equity Partners I + Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company
Deal Value: ~$3,500,000,000 (Based on BTC holdings)
Announcement Date: July 17^th, 2025
Initial BTC Holdings: 30,000 BTC
Cantor Advisors: Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (Financial) + Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP (Legal)
BSTR Advisors: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (Legal)

Summary

• Creates instant top-5 corporate bitcoin holder
• Plans additional $1.5B capital raise
• Mirrors MicroStrategy's successful bitcoin strategy