February 15, 2011

Austin-based All Web Leads Buys California Firm

Austin-based All Web Leads Inc. has bought a California company in a deal that officials said will create a combined $100 million-a-year lead generation company with No. 2 market share.

All Web Leads acquired for an undisclosed amount InsuranceLeads.com, which is operated by ITSOL Inc. The deal was financed by Boston-based investment firm Great Hill Partners LLC, which is now All Web Leads majority owner, officials said.

The combined company is based in Austin and employs 140 workers locally and in California. But All Web Leads will eventually consolidate all of its workers into a single Austin operation to make it easier to manage, CEO Bill Daniel said.

All Web Leads, which teamed with InsuranceLeads before the acquisition, has been pursuing the acquisition for two years. The company, which posted $48.8 million in sales during 2009, is planning additional acquisitions in the future, he said.

All Web Leads was founded in 2005 by Jim Waltrip and Ryan Patterson, high school buddies from San Antonio who were developing software before they hit upon their automated Web-based business model.

Since insurance companies, agents and brokers pay for sales leads, Waltrip and Patterson developed websites that would attract consumers researching insurance premiums. Once on a site, consumers are faced with a 12-question form that’s simple enough to ensure a high rate of completion. That collected data, which are effectively sales leads, are then sold to insurance companies, agents and brokers.

Waltrip and Patterson initially funded All Web Leads by pooling together credit cards of friends and family. In 2008, they received a $5 million investment from SSM Partners, a Memphis, Tenn.-based private equity firm; Croft & Bender LLC of Atlanta; and Dillon Joyce Ltd. of Dallas.