Munich Re Acquires IoT-Start-Up

The reinsurance company Munich Re takes over the IoT company Relayr. The aim is to combine industrial IoT engineering and insurance services in the future.

Munich Re will acquire 100 percent of Relay through its group company Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB).The enterprise value of Relayr has been set at USD 300 million. The fast-growing company provides comprehensive solutions for the digital transformation of industries and aims to support Munich Re's IoT strategy by developing IoT solutions for clients.

Relayr will continue to operate independently and maintain its dynamic corporate culture to drive innovation and attract IoT talent. "The Internet of Things already influences our world and has the potential to fundamentally change traditional primary insurance and reinsurance. It enables new business models and services and brings new competitors to the market," said Torsten Jeworrek, Member of Munich Re's Board of Management. "This acquisition clearly follows our strategy: We combine Relayr's own risk knowledge, data analysis capabilities, and financial strength with Relayr's technological expertise. On this basis we want to develop new ideas for the future of trade and industry."

Relayr has been working with HSB and Munich Re since 2016. The merger will enable Relayr to further expand its financial and insurance offering. At the same time the StartUp can fall back on the large customer base of the group and thus use the technical expertise for company growth.

Josef Brunner, CEO of Relayr: "We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with Munich Re/HSB in order to jointly advance digitization in trade and industry. We support companies in successfully shaping the upheaval and asserting themselves on their market. The combination of our companies underlines the importance of contributing to our customers' business success with forward-looking technologies and high-performance financial and insurance solutions".

Relayr offers a wide range of services for industrial companies who want to digitize their business; from the initial consultation on the right technology to support during implementation and support during ongoing operations. For example, the company has developed a platform with which companies can connect old and new versions of hardware and software, as well as read and analyze data from machines and devices. This makes it possible, for example, to recognize when a machine would probably fail and prevent the failure by appropriate maintenance. Relayr's IoT solutions enable companies to gain business-critical data with which they can improve their processes and thus their profitability. Since the beginning of the cooperation with HSB in 2016, Relayr's offering has been supplemented by financial and insurance components.

The transaction is expected to be completed within the next four to six weeks, once the relevant regulatory authorities have given their approval.