Mauritius Union Assurance (MUA Ltd), an insurer that owns subsidiaries in East Africa, has acquired a 100% stake in Saham Assurance of Kenya in a deal worth Ksh 1.23 billion.
This was realised after getting all the regulatory approvals from the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA, Kenya), the COMESA Competition Commission and the South African Reserve Bank and the Competition Authority of Kenya.
The transaction will allow MUA to strengthen its presence in the Kenyan market, leading to significant synergies.
The transaction was through a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) done through its subsidiary MUA Insurance (Kenya) Limited (“MUA Kenya”).
Saham Assurance Company Kenya Limited, formerly known as Mercantile Insurance Company Ltd, was established in 1993 as a composite insurance company.
Saham has a market share of 1.54 percent with KSh1.62 billion in premiums and is expected to combine with the MUA insurance in Kenya to boost market presence to about three percent.
MUA Group Chief Executive Officer Bertrand Casteres says, “This move also fits well within our three-year strategic plan to 2020 which is to expand by acquisition.”
The merged entity will be headed by Saham Kenya, Chief Executive Officer of Lydia Kibaara while the current CEO of MUA Kenya, Ashraf Musbally, retains oversight of the MUA’s interest into the Kenyan market.
READ
Kenya’s insurance market has 37 players with each of the largest insurers not even holding 10 percent market share.
According to MUA, its Kenyan subsidiary seeks to provide the best in class products for clients and recently expanded its client offering by launching a microinsurance product.
RELATED
1 Comment
Pingback: Mauritius Union Assurance Consolidates Kenyan Subsidiary Under One Brand