Sanlam expands stake in Moroccan insurer

After a trying year that forced Sanlam to write down R5.8bn of its stake in Saham, the insurer has decided to invest more money into the Moroccan general insurer. The local life insurer already owns 100% of Saham, but now it wants to increase its stake in Saham Assurance Maroc to 84.5% from 61.7% it already held through Sanlam Emerging Markets. A Fin24 report notes that Sanlam will pay about R2bn to acquire the additional stake, which will be funded using debt facilities. It expects to finalise the acquisition by the end of the third quarter this year. It spent $1.1bn in 2018 to buy the Saham Group, which propelled the company to become Africa's largest insurer with a presence in 44 countries.