Pan Africa raises stake in Sanlam to 27.5pc

Pan Africa Insurance Holdings Limited Chief Executive Officer Tom Gitogo. FILE 

By  BD REPORTER
 

 

Pan Africa Insurance has increased its shareholding in fund management company Sanlam Investment by a tenth, raising its stake in the firm to 27.5 per cent

The Nairobi Securities Exchange listed insurer bought the additional shares in the first quarter of this year, chief executive Tom Gitogo said in an interview.

“We have in quarter one this year increased the holding to 27.5 per cent as we believe in the future of fund management in this region,” said Mr Gitogo.

Pan Africa bought a 17.5 per cent stake in Sanlam for Sh3.8 million in 2008, in a deal that at the time valued the fund management company at Sh21.7 million.

Mr Gitogo said that five years on, Sanlam’s valuation is “different”, but he did not disclose the transaction price for the latest deal.

“The fair value of the company is primarily driven by the performance fee earned and the volatility of the market makes it difficult to estimate the fair value based on future discounted cash flows,”

Pan Africa Insurance disclosed in its latest annual statement for the year ended 2012.

Both firms have common shareholding in South Africa’s Sanlam, a financial services group that is listed at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Namibian Stock Exchange.

Sanlam, the parent company, owned 55.7 per cent of Pan Africa Insurance as at the end of 2012 through an entity named Hubris Holdings Ltd.