Britam Plc shareholders have approved the acquisition of a 14. 3% stake in the company by private Equity Fund AfricInvest.
Following Friday’s approval, AfricInvest will now inject KSh 5.7 billion to buy 360, 888, 281 million new
ordinary shares of Britam at a subscription price of Ksh 15. 85 per share. Upon the completion of the subscription, AfricInvest will hold a 14. 3% stake of the issued ordinary shares of the company.
The subscription is awaiting approval from the Capital Markets Authority and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.
AfricInvest is a Pan African Private Equity fund which manages about US$1 billion in 14 private equity funds. It is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed by a consortium of global investors from the Federal Republic of Germany, Netherlands, and France.
Since inception in 1994, AfricInvest has invested in 135 companies across 24 African countries in high growth sectors including financial services, agribusiness, consumer/retail, education and healthcare. Its most recent investments in the insurance industry are UAP Holdings (East Africa), Mansard Holdings (Nigeria) GAT Assurance (Tunisia) and UAB Life (Burkina Faso).
Speaking during a General Meeting of the shareholders at a Nairobi Hotel, Britam Group Managing Director Dr Benson Wairegi said the investment by the private equity fund makes AfricInvest a strategic partner in Britam.
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Dr Wairegi said the funds would go to support strategic projects in the group, including the consolidation of the group’s leadership position across its various businesses in insurance, asset management and property in line with the company’s 2016-2020 strategy.
“We chose to partner with AfricInvest because of their deep financial sector knowledge as well as their extensive experience working with insurance firms across the continent both of which we hope to leverage. We also believe that this partnership will result in unlocking higher shareholder value. The coming on board of AfricInvest into Britam also gives us confidence that the company
is on the right track,” Dr Wairegi said.
The decision by AfricInvest to invest in Britam comes less than a month after the IFC released Ksh 3.6 billion to fund strategic projects in the company. Both the IFC and AfricInvest subscribe to high international standards of corporate governance and sustainability.
