Barclays Africa buys controlling stake in First Assurance of Kenya for R374 million
Barclays Africa announced on Wednesday that it would acquire a 63, 3% stake in First Assurance of Kenya for about R374 million.
About 25 percent of the purchase price, or R94 million, will be used as capital injection. The deal is subject to regulatory approval in South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania, where First assurance operates.
First Assurance is Kenya’s tenth largest insurer in Kenya, where it also offers life insurance and offers general insurance in Tanzania.
The group says the acquisition is in line with its stated strategy of capturing the growth opportunity for its Wealth, Investment Management and Insurance business in East Africa.
The acquisition comes shortly after the launch of Barclays Life Assurance Kenya (‘BLAK’) at the of April this year.
The group says the intention is to merge First Assurance’s life operations in Kenya with BLAK once the transaction is completed. “The combination of First Assurance and BLAK will give Barclays Africa a general and life insurance presence in Kenya as well as a general insurance presence in Tanzania,” the group said.
“Barclays Africa wants to extend its customer offering to more people across the continent while expanding the range of financial products and services on offer. The planned acquisition of First Assurance is a good strategic fit for our business, provides us with a strong platform to expand our bancassurance offering in East Africa, and complements the Group’s financial target of increasing our revenues from Africa outside of South Africa to between 20 percent and 25 percent,” Wilie Lategan, Chief Executive of Wealth, Investment Management and Insurance at Barclays Africa said in a statement. Source: ENCA
