In June last year, Barclays Africa announced that it will buy a 63.3 percent stake in the insurance firm and which would see First Assurance shareholders receive Sh2.2 billion/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 7 – Barclays Africa has finally completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in First Assurance.
The Sh2.9 billion transaction now opens the door for Barclays Kenya to gain a foothold in the insurance market.
“I would like to start by congratulating our parent company Barclays Africa Group Limited for successfully incorporating First Assurance to the Barclays Africa family,” Barclays Bank Kenya Managing Director Jeremy Awori said during the launch of the insurance firm as part of Barclays Group.
In June last year, Barclays Africa announced that it will buy a 63.3 percent stake in the insurance firm and which would see First Assurance shareholders receive Sh2.2 billion.
The bank also announced an additional Sh700 million capital injection to boost the business.
Before acquisition, Barclays Bank of Kenya had already started selling general and life insurance products through the bank’s 119 branches.
“With the addition of First Assurance to the Barclays family, we are better positioned to play a bigger role in increasing the penetration of insurance in this country,” Awori added.
First Assurance, which started off in Kenya as Prudential Assurance Company in 1930, has 132 employees serving 50,000 customers in group life, medical and general insurance.
The insurance firm has five branches in Kenya, two in Nairobi and one each in, Nakuru, Mombasa and Kisumu. It also has branches in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
