South Africa’s No.4 insurer, Liberty Holdings, will buy stakes in two unlisted short-term insurers in Malawi and Botswana as part of its planned expansion into the rest of Africa, the company said on Wednesday.
Liberty will buy Botswana short-term insurer Prefsure Limited and take a majority stake in Malawian based private short-term insurer Charter Insurance Company Ltd, the company said in a statement. Financial details about the transactions were not disclosed.
The acquisitions form part of Liberty’s strategy of growth into Africa, which has a growing number of people who can invest in insurance to protect their wealth and assets.
“Liberty aims to become one of the leading insurers in the growing East, Central and Southern African regions,” said Liberty chief executive Thabo Dloti.
Charter has a 5 percent market share in Malawi while Prefsure services Botswana’s retail consumer market.
Liberty is majority-owned by South African lender Standard Bank, which has also expanded its presence on the continent in recent years. (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Ed Stoddard)
Reuters
