Solidarity General Takaful set to merge with Al Ahlia
Manama: Solidarity General Takaful, a subsidiary of Solidarity Group Holding, aims to consolidate its position as one of the top insurance players in Bahrain through its merger with Al Ahlia Insurance Company.
Shareholders of the two companies approved the merger terms in a meeting and Solidarity General Takaful is expected to merge with Al Ahlia in December this year.
The combined entity, which is set to be named “Solidarity Bahrain”, will have a paid-up capital of BD11.2 million and an estimated 15 per cent market share with 10 branches, making it the largest Takaful Insurance Company in Bahrain.
Solidarity General Takaful shareholders will be entitled to receive 2.5 shares of Al Ahlia stock for each share of Solidarity General Takaful, on the basis of the independent valuations as required by the Central Bank of Bahrain.
In order to facilitate the merger, Al Ahlia shareholders approved the conversion of the insurance licence from conventional to Islamic insurance licence (takaful). They also approved the increase of the authorised share capital of Al Ahlia to BD12m.
“We celebrate two new milestones – the approval of the conversion of Al Ahlia licence to a takaful licence and the approval of the merger with Solidarity General Takaful,” said Al Ahlia vice-chairman AbdulEllah Al Qassimi.
“Under Solidarity Bahrain, we will draw on our decades of experience to push the boundaries of customer service innovations and remain focused on delivering outstanding returns to our stakeholders.”
“The merged human resource base will provide for the range of a strong and capable human capital pooled from within the existing resources,” said Mr Al Qassimi.
Solidarity Group Holding chief executive Ashraf Bseisu said: “We acquired a major share in Al Ahlia last year and have been very pleased with the commonality of the cultures, operating models and the customer service focus of our two subsidiaries”.
“We believe that consolidation has become a necessity to create larger and stronger financial institutions capable of offering a unique customer experience”.
“Solidarity Bahrain, the new merged entity, will result ultimately in being the largest takaful company and one of the leading top-tier insurance players in Bahrain,” Mr Bseisu said.
“As part of the growth strategy, Solidarity Group actively pursues promising expansion opportunities in the insurance industry. This merger translates those expansion goals into a tangible reality.
Following completion of the merger, Solidarity Bahrain will be headed by Jawad Mohamed, who said, “Al Ahlia is the ideal partner for Solidarity General Takaful. This is the first insurance industry merger Bahrain has seen in 20 years.
“We expect the merger to significantly intensify and strengthen our combined ability to serve our retail customers and corporate clients that made both Solidarity General Takaful and Al Ahlia successful.
Source: http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/248377/Solidarity-General-Takaful-set-to-merge-with-Al-Ahlia
