TorQuest gets busy with second deal in a month

Boyd Erman, Globe and Mail

After a quiet start to 2010, TorQuest Partners is suddenly busting deals out all over. The firm, which runs $700-million, is taking a stake in SCM Insurance Services of Edmonton, which bills itself as the largest independent insurance claims manager in the country, with 120 branches and 1,400 employees.

SCM's founder, president and CEO, Larry Shumka, along with other managers, will hold a sizable equity stake and will continue to run the company, which also does risk-management services and private investigations.

SCM will use the cash from TorQuest's investment, the size of which wasn't disclosed, to grow at home and internationally and to roll out new products.

TorQuest has a history in insurance, with investments such as GCAN, a Toronto-based property and casualty insurer.

The deal for SCM comes only a few weeks after TorQuest announced the purchase of a stake in 4Refuel Canada LP, which developed an automated system to enable companies to track fuel use and costs. The company has big clients in businesses such as logistics, rail, bottling and construction.