Mauritius Union Assurance (MUA Ltd), an insurer that owns subsidiaries in East Africa, is planning to acquire a 100% stake in Saham Assurance of Kenya.
MUA which is also the largest insurer in Mauritius by Market Capitalization, in a statement, said the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) will be through its subsidiary MUA Insurance (Kenya) Limited (“MUA Kenya”).
“This transaction is another important milestone in the execution of our Strategic Plan MUA Ambition 2020, as we will reach a critical mass that will allow us to fully capture the significant growth potential of the insurance markets in East Africa”, said Bertrand Casteres, Group CEO of MUA.
MUA Insurance (Kenya) Ltd, was previously known as Phoenix of East Africa Assurance Company Ltd.
The transaction is subject to regulatory and other relevant approvals.
Once concluded, MUA Kenya will occupy a more robust position in the Kenyan short-term insurance market with complementary strengths and economies of scale between MUA Kenya and Saham Kenya expected to lead to significant value creation.
Saham Assurance Company Kenya Limited, formerly known as Mercantile Insurance Company Ltd, was established in 1993 as a composite insurance company.
The majority shareholder is Colina Holdings Ltd, a public limited company and a fully owned subsidiary of Saham Finances (now called Sanlam Pan Africa), a leading pan-African Insurance Company.
In 2018 the Sanlam Group, a financial conglomerate listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, acquired 100% of Sanlam Pan Africa.
