BIHL completes acquisition of stake in BIC
Staff Writer | Thursday February 11, 2016 15:17
The transaction results in BIHL Group acquiring 50 percent of the shares in BIC through the purchase of shares in Teledimo (Pty) Ltd (BIC’s parent company). This follows the BIC’s acquisition of the BIHL subsidiary, BIHL Sure! general lines book in August 2014.
“It is an exciting time for us at BIHL Group as we drive our strategy further. We are happy to share the fortuitous news on the acquisition, and thank the many parties and stakeholders involved in progressing this transaction. This includes the Board, management and staff of BIC, with whom we have fostered increasingly healthy relations in recent years,” said BIHL Group CEO, Gaffar Hassam.
The equity acquisition by BIHL Group will allow BIHL and BIC to leverage collective expertise and resources. This is on the back of BIHL Group’s 40-year heritage of serving Batswana, and BIC’s reputation as an industry leader in its space, which also spans 40 years. The resultant benefit is enhanced services and development of increasingly competitive products to benefit customers.
“BIC is a reputable and renowned business in its space, and we are confident in the now collective strength of these two great players in the local market. We look forward to our strength in numbers growing this industry further for the benefit of all of our people; staff, customers, and the wider public and indeed to contribute ever more to the growth of our national economy,” added Hassam.
BIC managing director, Johann Claasen added that the acquisition could not come at better time, as market dynamics continue to unfold. “This is a positive transition for BIC, unveiling paramount opportunities for the near future. The acquisition draws strengths from both organisations, and creates a solid direction for our strategic objectives. Being associated with a distinguished and prominent brand such as BIHL Group has given BIC the confidence in setting the standards even higher in ensuring we deliver quality services and short term insurance solutions,” he said.
Claasen concluded that the synergies, shared resources and alliance will give BIC the chance to break through and further explore market differentiation potential, ascertain competitive advantage, foster partnerships and define focus on continued business performance.