C-Re Holdings Limited, owned by the Saham Finances S.A, a member of the Moroccan Saham Group, at the weekend acquired additional three per cent equity stake to increase its controlling majority equity stake in Continental Reinsurance Plc to 56.5 per cent.
Saham Group last month increased its stake in Saham Finances from 62.5 per cent to 70 per cent.
A transaction note obtained by The Nation at the weekend indicated that about 304.27 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each of Continental Reinsurance (Continental Re) were sold to C-Re Holdings Limited. The shares were sold by a nominee subsidiary of a financial services holding company equally quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The deal, which was done through the negotiated cross deal platform of the NSE, was struck in a single deal at N1.60 per share, 46.8 per cent above Continental Re’s current market price of N1.09 per share. The deal volume of 304.266 million ordinary shares represents 2.9 per cent of Continental Re’s outstanding issued shares of 10.373 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.
The off-market negotiated deal allows transactions to be consummated above the current market price on the Exchange. The negotiated cross deal platform of the Exchange is a special-purpose trading platform that is meant for voluminous transaction, usually equivalent to five per cent or more of the issued shares of any company. The negotiated cross deal allows the parties to the deal to close the deal at reduced cost.
As a single cross deal, it implies that the buyer and the seller had been prearranged and the transfer at the stock market was a mere perfection of the agreement between the two.
Continental Re was incorporated in 1985 and started business as a private reinsurance company in Nigeria. In January 1987, it began to operate as a general reinsurer and then became a composite reinsurer in January 1990, offering both treaty and facultative life and non-life reinsurance. As part of its goal to become a recognised leading reinsurance company in Africa, it converted to a public limited liability company in 2000. After it recapitalised to the tune of N10 billion in 2007, it listed its shares on the NSE in May 2007.
With six client service centres in Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Tunisia and Botswana with Nigeria as headquarters, Continental Re operates composite reinsurance in more than 44 countries across the African continent.
Saham Finances S.A, the insurance arm of the Saham Group, in September 2015 acquired the majority equity stake in Continental Re following the divestment by the Emerging Capital Partners (ECP).
The Nation had reported in August 2014 that ECP Africa Fund II PCC and its partners, which form the ECP Fund II Consortium, were exploring the opportunity for the divestment of their interests in C-Re Holding Limited, a Mauritius-based limited liability company wholly owned by the ECP Fund II Consortium. C-Re Holding Limited was then the majority shareholder in Continental Re, holding approximately 50.6 per cent of the issued share capital of the company.
ECP then in September 2015 confirmed that Saham Finances SA had acquired C-Re Holding Limited, taking possession of the investment company’s current 53.6 per cent equity stake in Continental Re.
One of the biggest Pan African insurance groups, Saham Finances recorded a turnover of more than $1 billion in 2014. As the insurance arm of the Saham Group, Saham Finances stated that it was actively following its growth strategy in Africa and the Middle East with presence in 24 countries through 49 subsidiaries, including 28 insurance and reinsurance companies through 650 branches throughout Africa and has a team of 2,260 collaborators.
In November 2015, Saham Group increased its stake in Saham Finances from 62.5 per cent to 70 per cent. The Moroccan Group hthe Abraaj Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the IFC African Latin American and Caribbean Fund (ALAC) to exit their remaining 30 per cent equity stake to The Sanlam Group.
Saham Group stated that its increased investment in Saham Finances forms an integral part of its strategy of expanding its footprint in Africa and the Middle East, and enhancing its position as a leading player in the insurance sector in the continent.
“By leveraging the new partnership with The SANLAM Group, SAHAM Finances would further grow its portfolio of services and drive further growth by enabling access to non-life insurance services for entrepreneurs and businesses in the continent,” the group noted.
Saham Group is owned by the Moroccan billionaire-Moulay Hafid Elalamy, 55. Elalamy owns an estimated 83 per cent of Saham Group and he is ranked as one of the 50 Africa’s richest persons, according to Forbes’s 2015 Ranking. Elalamy, Morocco’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, founded Saham Group in 1995. In 2013, French investment firm Wendel acquired 13 per cent of Saham for $100 million.
Saham Group operates CNIA Saada, one of Morocco’s biggest insurance companies. The group’s other activities include call centres in partnership with German media company Bertelsmann as well as medical clinics. In 2014, the group generated nearly $1.1 billion in revenue, according to Forbes. In June 2015, Saham Group formed a joint venture with FinanceCom, owned by Moroccan billionaire Othman Benjelloun, to sell insurance and other financial products throughout Africa.
