Chicago health-benefits startup Maestro bought for $155 million

Maestro Health has masterfully played the shift toward more complicated health care choices for workers.

The Chicago-based healthcare-benefits company sold for $155 million to AXA, a global insurance giant based in Paris. Maestro, which was founded in 2013 and employs 325 people, raised $65 million.

"We'll be a subsidiary of AXA. We'll maintain the brand and the management team," said CEO Rob Butler. The transaction is expected to close this quarter.

Maestro helps companies with health benefits enrollment and administration, including selecting coverage from online insurance marketplaces called health care exchanges.

It's been a hot space in recent years. Bwsift, another Chicago-based company in health-benefits administration, was bought by insurer Aetna in 2014 for $400 million, not long after it raised $51 million from investors. Two years ago, Chicago-based Connected Health, another insurance-benefits tech company, was sold to Connecture, a publicly traded company in Brookfield, Wis., for $4.6 million.

"Health-benefits startup Maestro bought for $155 million" originally appeared in Crain's Chicago Business.