RABAT, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's SAHAM Group announced on Thursday the selling of its 53.4-percent share in the capital of its business in Africa to South African group Sanlam for 1.05 billion U.S. dollars.
After this move, the Cape-Town based insurer Sanlam will raise its share in the former Moroccan African business to 100 percent from 46.6 percent since February 2016.
The deal will give Sanlam access to SAHAM's insurance business which is present in 26 countries through 35 insurance companies.
SAHAM Finances, a Casablanca-based arm of the SAHAM Group founded in 1995 by Moulay Hafid Elalamy (currently Minister of Industry), is the largest insurer on the continent outside of South Africa.
"SAHAM Group's DNA lies within its ability to bring together leading international investors, such as the World Bank, Kingdom Zephyr, Abraaj, Allianz, Bertelsmann, Wendel and more recently the Sanlam Group," Moulay Mhamed Elalamy, SAHAM Group's spokesman said in a statement.
"As part of its transformation into a Pan-African Investment Fund, SAHAM will now attract new partners, to break new ground, and invest in future-oriented businesses, development accelerators for our country and our continent," he underlined.
