Channel Life has acquired the entire share capital of South Africa’s oldest black life insurer, Safrican, the companies announced on Wednesday.
”Having Channel Life as a shareholder will allow us to fully realise our potential and expand the operation into areas that we previously didn’t have access to,” Safrican chief executive officer Nthabiseng Mmatli said in a statement.
It placed Safrican in a position to establish a strong presence in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape and fulfill further criteria of the Financial Services Charter, he said.
An unlisted subsidiary of the Sanlam group, Channel Life is the country’s fastest-growing entry level-life insurer.
It acquired Safrican from Thebe Investment Holdings for an undisclosed amount. In return, Thebe would acquire a stake in Channel Life Holdings.
Channel Life chief executive officer René Otto said the companies already had a relationship as Channel Life had previously acquired a stake in Safrican.
”We are now well on our way to further ‘Africanise’ the life insurance industry,” he said. – Sapa