Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Alexander Forbes Group Holdings has acquired a significant stake in actuary firm, African Actuarial Consultants (AAC) as it expands its footprint into the local market.
BY BUSINESS REPORTER
This is part of the group’s growth strategy to expand into selected markets in sub-Saharan Africa under the emerging markets division, which already has market leading businesses in Botswana, Namibia, Uganda and Nigeria, chief executive officer Andrew Darfoor said yesterday.
“It [the acquisition] adds scale to Alexander Forbes’ consultants and actuaries business line and further enhances its existing talent and client base. Furthermore, the company gives Alexander Forbes a foothold into the Zimbabwean market which has significant upside growth potential when, as expected, the economic climate improves,” Darfoor said.
He said the ownership percentage was subject to local Zimbabwe regulatory approval, but Alexander Forbes wished to acquire 70% ownership of AAC.
He could not be drawn into revealing the value of the transaction, saying the matter was confidential.
AAC, which started operating in 1993, offers end-to-end actuarial and advisory services to leading insurers, reinsurers and large pension schemes in Zimbabwe as well as compensation and medical schemes. It also has regional clients and a staff complement of 25.
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Darfoor said Alexander Forbes and AAC have a long-term vision to create an energetic, innovative and highly regarded pan-African consulting and actuarial leader that offers end-to-end capabilities to financial schemes and their sponsors both in the private and public sector.
AAC managing director, Tinashe Mashoko, said the company was delighted to become part of Alexander Forbes, whose market leading position would strengthen AAC’s business and allow it to grow its local and regional client base “Alexander Forbes is a natural fit for AAC. As a leading brand, Alexander Forbes has expertise, scale and market influence and we could not have found a better investor than them,” he said.
Alexander Forbes is a specialised financial services group headquartered in South Africa focusing on employee benefits solutions for institutional clients, and the financial wellbeing and retail financial solutions for individual clients, in particular employees of the group’s institutional clients. Its principal geographic focus is in South Africa, where it has been operating since 1935, sub-Saharan Africa, the UK and other selected jurisdictions which have employee benefits legislative frameworks similar to South Africa.
A former unit of First Mutual Holdings Limited (FMHL), AAC was sold to Mashoko’s Frankmash Enterprises in January last year. FMHL group chief executive officer Douglas Hoto told NewsDay then the decision to sell the actuarial unit came after realising that AAC had the capacity to offer services to the local market, but could not do by virtue of being owned by the financial services group.
