Prudential plc (“Prudential”, the “Company” or the “Group”) announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire the remaining shares* in its joint venture in Nigeria, Prudential Zenith Life Insurance Company (“PZL”) I did.
PZL has existing banking partnerships with Zenith Bank in Nigeria and Ghana.
Zenith Bank is a leading bank headquartered in Nigeria with a network of over 400 branches and approximately 29 million customers across the region.
The increased ownership of the PZL business is a further step in Prudential’s commitment to deploying capital in existing businesses with the greatest potential in Africa. Prudential initially purchased a 51% stake in Nigeria’s Zenith Life Insurance Company in 2017, benefiting from an existing bank partnership with Zenith Bank. Consideration for this transaction will be paid in cash and includes a performance-based component.
Solmaz Altin, Managing Director of Prudential’s Strategic Business Group, commented on the transaction: . The acquisition of the remaining stake is consistent with the company’s new strategy to build a sustainable multi-channel growth platform through targeted investments in structural growth markets in Asia and Africa. We see significant long-term opportunities in Nigeria and plan to strengthen our existing agents, bank sales partnerships and direct distribution capabilities.
PZL is a great business and one that we are very familiar with, and our relationship with Zenith Bank further strengthens our distribution capabilities in the region. ”
Emmanuel Aliyi Mokobi, Prudential CEO for Africa, said:
Insurance penetration remains low in Nigeria (less than 0.2% of GDP), with significant growth runway. The Nigerian life insurance market is the fifth largest market in Africa with gross written premiums of US$770 million and we have an established presence there.
Prudential Africa’s strategy is to establish a presence in our selected African insurance markets and focus on investing in growth and scale. The Nigerian business is profitable and acquiring the remaining stake will allow us to realize the full potential of the platform by implementing initiatives in areas such as customers, technology-enabled distribution and health. It will be. ”
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, with a GDP of US$477 billion (1) and a population of 218 million in 2022. Nigeria’s population is growing rapidly and is expected to increase to more than 370 million people by 2050 (2), by which time Nigeria will be the third most populous country in the world. (currently in 6th place).
The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of applicable conditions prior to completion.
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