Sagicor closes deal with Bahamas firm
Published:Wednesday | June 23, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Sagicor Life Jamaica has closed the sale of its general insurance business in Cayman Islands to Bahamas First Holdings Limited, but said Friday it continues to maintain a presence in that country through its other holdings.
The cost of the transaction was not disclosed, but the sale was effected through wholly-owned subsidiary Sagicor Life of the Cayman Islands Limited in the first quarter.
Bahamas First Holdings now owns 75.24 per cent of Sagicor General Insurance, Cayman with the Cayman Islands Government owning 24 per cent interest in the company.
The deal included Sagicor Re Insurance Limited, a Sagicor General subsidiary
Sagicor Jamaica's chief financial officer Ivan Carter said in a company-issued statement that the insurance company would focus on the individual life, group life and captives management lines of business through the subsidiaries, Sagicor Life of the Cayman Islands and Sagicor Insurance Managers Limited.
Sagicor first announced the deal with Bahamas First in March, but said closure of the sale was awaiting regulatory approval, which it has since received.
It said then that its investment in the property and casualty insurance business in Cayman no longer offered sufficient strategic value.
Just three years before, the Richard Byles-led Sagicor Jamaica, had increased its stake in Sagicor General Cayman from 51 per cent to 75 per cent, paying J$277 million for the additional stake.
But its general insurance business has been a loss-maker for the group, last posting a J$217 million loss in 2009.
Sagicor Jamaica wrote off the Cayman investment under discontinued operations at yearend December 2009, suggesting that the deal with Bahamas First was significantly advanced up to then, but has not said whether the entire J$395.15 million charge was attributable to the general insurance operation.
The company said the effective transfer of the company to Bahamas First was January 1, 2010.