Britam shareholders have approved the acquisition of a 14. 3 per cent stake in the company by private equity fund AfricInvest.
AfricInvest will now inject Sh5.7 billion to buy 360, 888, 281 million new ordinary shares of Britam at a subscription price of Sh15. 85 per share. Upon the completion of the subscription, AfricInvest will hold a 14. 3 per cent 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 $1 billion (Sh103 billion) in 14 private equity funds. It is a special purpose vehicle formed by a consortium of global investors from the Federal Republic of Germany, The 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 Benson Wairegi said the investment makes AfricInvest a strategic partner in the business.
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.
The decision by AfricInvest to invest in Britam comes less than a month after the IFC released Sh3.6 billion to fund strategic projects in the company.