Insurance firms Allianz SE and Sanlam Limited are now ready to unveil their multi-billion-shilling joint venture after months of negotiations that included agreeing on the final shareholding structure.
The planned launch comes after they announced in September last year that they had received regulatory approvals, for the joint venture that will create a Pan-African non-banking financial services company with a presence in 27 countries in Africa including Kenya.
Paul Hanratty, chief executive of South African-headquartered Sanlam Group announced Thursday evening during the Sanlam Financial Journalism awards ceremony in Johannesburg, rebranding has started in several markets, with the official launch lined up within “a couple of days.”
“The formation of the Sanlam-Allianz joint venture is really a highlight. It does create a platform for future growth for savings and investment business across our continent, which is such a vital element of the development of all economies,” said Mr Hanratty in his address.
“Following a year of undertaking the core tasks of making this collaboration a reality, I am pleased to say that in the next couple of days, you will see the official launch of the combined and rebranded entity in our key-shared markets.”
Sanlam and Allianz will contribute their respective African operations into the joint venture. Allianz will contribute ownership in its African subsidiaries including majority stakes in Jubilee general insurance businesses in Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi which it acquired in 2022.
Sanlam will contribute its interests in Sanlam Kenya (57.1 percent) and other operations. The multinational’s operations in South Africa, India, the Middle East, and Malaysia will be excluded from the deal.
Namibia will be included in the deal later. Once Namibia is included in the deal, Allianz will have the option to increase its shareholding to a maximum of 49 percent, leaving Sanlam with a controlling stake.
Allianz and Sanlam had said last year the joint venture will have a combined group equity value of approximately R35 billion (Sh251.5 billion), giving customers a broader offering of insurance products tailored to their needs. The joint venture will operate as SanlamAllianz.
Sanlam and Allianz had in May 2022 agreed on an initial shareholding split of 60:40, respectively, but announced in September last year that they were working on certain post-closing adjustments to get the final shareholding split. This is yet to be made public.
The 60:40 ownership was based on the relative appraised value of the assets the two were contributing as of June 30, 2021. The adjustment will likely factor in the changes that have happened over the two years.
The two firms are aiming at becoming among the top three players, in both market share and profitability, in the markets where the venture will operate.
