Absa strikes deal to sell entire ownership in two insurance firms

Absa Group Limited has entered into an agreement to sell its entire stake in two Kenyan insurance businesses to First Assurance Investments Limited (FAI), paving the way for FAI to become their sole shareholder.

Absa in a notice on August 13, 2026, said it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with FAI, an existing shareholder of First Assurance Company Limited (FAC) and Absa Life Assurance Kenya Limited (ALAK), for the sale of its entire 63.32% shareholding in each of the two companies.

The transaction will result in FAI acquiring full ownership of the two businesses, subject to the receipt of all required regulatory approvals and fulfilment of other customary conditions precedent.

Absa said the proposed transaction is part of its continued restructuring of its insurance business, following the sale of its insurance manufacturing entities in Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia in 2025.

The banking group said the transaction will be supported by a collaborative process aimed at ensuring there is no disruption to the operations of First Assurance Company and Absa Life Assurance Kenya.

Existing distribution relationships between the insurance businesses and Absa Bank Kenya will also continue, according to the announcement.

Absa further confirmed that customer products and services will not be affected by the transaction.

The proposed sale marks a significant change in the ownership history of First Assurance, which dates back nearly a century.

The company began operations in Kenya in 1930 as Prudential Assurance Company, the East African operation of British insurer Prudential.

It was subsequently converted into a wholly Kenyan-owned company in 1991 and adopted the First Assurance name.

Its ownership changed again in 2015 when Barclays Africa Group acquired a controlling 63.3% stake in First Assurance in a transaction worth about KSh2.9 billion.

The deal included payments to existing shareholders as well as a fresh capital injection into the insurer, giving Barclays a foothold in Kenya's general insurance market and complementing its existing life insurance operations.

The acquisition was part of Barclays Africa's broader push to expand its wealth, investment management and insurance business in East Africa.

At the time, Barclays said First Assurance would provide a platform for expanding its bancassurance offering, while the insurer's existing operations gave the banking group an established presence in the market.

The business was subsequently reorganized to separate its general and life insurance operations.

In 2019, First Assurance transferred the assets and liabilities associated with its life insurance business to Absa Life Assurance Kenya, effective July 1, leaving First Assurance focused on its continuing general insurance operations.

The transfer was recorded as a discontinued operation in First Assurance's financial statements.

That restructuring is significant to the latest transaction because Absa's stake is held across both First Assurance Company Limited and Absa Life Assurance Kenya Limited.

A 2023 assessment by GCR also described First Assurance as the short-term/general insurance business after the long-term portfolio had been transferred to Absa Life.

The proposed Kenyan sale comes as Absa has been reshaping its insurance operations across the continent.

In 2025, the group disposed of three insurance entities in Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia, transactions that Absa said resulted in a loss on disposal.

The exits also had a significant effect on the group's insurance financial performance, with insurance income falling sharply following the disposals.

Absa's 2025 results also indicated that its remaining Kenyan insurance businesses were performing more strongly, with Absa Life Kenya and First Assurance Kenya recording higher new business volumes in areas including endowment and group life.

At the same time, Absa said its broader strategy was increasingly centered on a distribution-led model, with bancassurance non-interest revenue growing during the year.

The group said further announcements will be made in line with regulatory requirements as material developments occur.