NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenyan lender NCBA Group intends to acquire all the shares of AIG Kenya Insurance Company, it said late on Monday.
Commercial banks in the East African nation have been moving into the insurance business in recent years to seize the opportunities presented by low rates of insurance penetration.
The transaction, which will require regulatory approvals, will see NCBA, which is ranked as the third largest lender, take up the two thirds of AIG shares that it doesn’t already own, NCBA said in a statement.
It did not disclose the value of the deal.
NCBA, which has held its minority stake in AIG Kenya for the last 18 years, has been impressed by the company’s steady revenue growth, said NCBA’s chief executive John Gachora, informing the decision to acquire all its shares.
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)