Barclays Africa acquires part of First Assurance

Barclays Africa bank has acquired a 63.3% stake in First Assurance, a transaction estimated at 2.9 billion KES (32 million USD). The buyer will also inject 700 million KES (7.86 million USD) in the company’s capital to promote a new development strategy.

The shareholding is subject to approval by the supervisory authorities. The South African Bank already holds a life insurance subsidiary in the country: Barclays Life Assurance Kenya.
This new acquisition will allow Barclays to set foot in the non life insurance market. First Assurance is a multi-business insurer founded in 1930 under the name of Prudential Assurance Company.

In 2014, the volume of gross premiums reported by First Assurance amounted to 4.4 billion KES (49.4 million USD).