(Ecofin Agency) - Al Baraka Bank Tunisia, the Tunisian subsidiary of Bahrain-headquartered banking group Al Baraka, recently submitted a bid to acquire an additional 51.08% stake in El Amana Takaful, an Islamic insurance company.

On July 12, Al Baraka Bank Tunisia and its subsidiary, Al Baraka Sicar, announced a tender offer to acquire 51.08% of the shares, totaling 720,301 shares, in El Amana Takaful that they currently do not own. The announcement was made through a notice from the Tunisian Financial Market Council.

Al Baraka Bank Tunisia, a subsidiary 78.4% owned by Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group, is offering 21.557 Tunisian dinars per share, 15.5 million dinars for the shares targeted.

Individual and legal entities that were already owning El Amana Takaful’s shares as of December 31, 2022, can submit sell orders by August 15, 2023, if interested in the offer. The largest shareholders include Compagnie Méditerranéenne d'Assurances et de Réassurances (Comar) with a 19.15% stake, Astree Insurance Company (12.76%), Tunis Re (6.38%), and Best Lease (6.38%).

Al Baraka Bank Tunisia and its subsidiary Al Baraka Sicar also hold shares in the insurance company with respectively 31.81% and 17.11% stakes. Overall, the two entities currently own 48.92% of the Tunisian insurance company. Through this tender offer, they intend to gain full control of El Amana.

With this tender offer, Al Baraka Group aims to diversify its products and services to attract new customers and meet the needs of its current clientele. It also wants to capitalize on the commercial synergies between the two entities and achieve economies of scale through operation consolidation and resource-sharing.  

Chamberline Moko