People Corp. buys Ottawa company

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This article was published 13/06/2015 (4000 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

People Corp., the Winnipeg-based group benefits, group retirement and human resource services company and third-party administrator, has acquired Coughlin & Associates Ltd.

The $30.2-million acquisition (for 66 per cent of Coughlin) is the 14th deal People Corp. has transacted since 2007 and its largest to date.

CEO Laurie Goldberg said, “We are trying to build scale and provide more choice to clients and deeper capabilities. Coughlin & Associates has a very, very strong brand and reputation… What they do is very in line with our strategy.”

The deal gives People Corp. its first presence in Ottawa. The company now has about 30 offices through its partner companies across the country with about 400 employees.

As with other People Corp. deals, Coughlin will retain its operating brand and become co-branded with People Corp.

The deal is the firm’s first foray into managing pension benefits.

Brian Bockstael, the Ottawa-based president and CEO of Coughlin & Associates said, “We wanted to partner with a strong and like-minded national benefits organization that shares our vision, values and commitment to providing exceptional products, services and advice to our clients. We have found that partner in People Corp.”

Bockstael and six other principals of Coughlin retain one-third ownership in the firm with a buyout schedule in place.

People Corp. has become one of the fastest-growing firms of its type in the country and one of the five or six largest independent benefits brokerage/third-party administrators in the country. It has approximately $1 billion in annual premiums and $3 billion in pension assets under administration.

Goldberg said the company is building economies of scale that give it a depth of expertise with specialty products and across many sectors.

It serves 750,000 Canadians in benefits consulting, third-party administration, pension consulting and administration as well as human resources.

‘What is happening across North America is group benefits are becoming increasingly important to attract and retain employees’

— People Corp. CEO Laurie Goldberg

“What is happening across North America is group benefits are becoming increasingly important to attract and retain employees,” Goldberg said. “At the same time, health-care costs that drive up the cost of benefit plans are increasing at a much greater rate than inflation. As a result, companies need advice more and more both around plan design and cost containment strategies.”

People Corp. recorded a 7.9 per cent increase in revenue to $11.9 million for the second quarter ending Feb.28, 2015. It had operating income of $6.4 million — a 9.7 per cent increase.

People Corp. shares closed unchanged at $4 on Friday.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca