Fairfax ‘thrilled’ to expand general insurance biz in SL with purchase of Asian Alliance

Thursday, 30 June 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. has announced that it has, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Fairfax Asia Ltd. (Fairfax Asia), entered into an agreement with Asian Alliance Insurance PLC to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Asian Alliance General Insurance Ltd. (AAGI), a Sri Lankan insurer. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2016.

AAGI is an established general insurer in Sri Lanka with over $ 14.1 million in gross written premiums in 2015 for its general insurance business. On closing, AAGI will become a subsidiary of Union Assurance General Ltd. and part of the Fairfax Asia group under the leadership of its CEO, Ramaswamy Athappan. As part of this transaction, Fairfax Asia will also enter into a distribution agreement with Softlogic Holdings PLC, pursuant to which the Softlogic group will exclusively offer general insurance products of Fairfax Asia to its customers.

“We are thrilled to expand the general insurance business carried on by Fairfax Asia in Sri Lanka with the acquisition of Asian Alliance General Insurance,” said Fairfax Chairman and CEO Prem Watsa. “The addition of AAGI and the new distribution arrangement with the Softlogic group represents a tremendous opportunity for us to continue to expand our operations in the region.”

Fairfax is a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and investment management.