Old Mutual ups stake in African insurer UAP
FTSE 100-listed finance firm Old Mutual has taken control of Kenya-based insurer UAP Holdings after buying a further 13.6 per cent stake from investment firm Abraaj for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition, which completed yesterday, means Old Mutual now owns a majority stake of 60.7 per cent in the pan-African financial services group.
It also comes as Old Mutual looks to grow customer numbers in Africa, excluding South Africa, to 10m by the end of the decade.
The region accounted for 14 per cent of adjusted operating profits last year, while South Africa, where the 170-year-old firm first launched, accounted for four per cent.
UAP offers services including life insurance, general insurance, and premium financing services. It has been operating in Sub-Saharan Africa since 1977 and has subsidiaries in six countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Sudan.
Dubai-based Abraaj said UAP’s gross written premium and book value increased at compound annual growth rates of 25.5 per cent and 18.8 per cent since it invested through one of its funds in 2012.