HWIC Asia Fund, a fund managed by Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. completed the acquisition of 85% stake in Eagle Insurance Company Limited (MUSE:MEI.N0000) from IBL Ltd (MUSE:IBLL.N0000) and others.
December 05, 2019
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HWIC Asia Fund, a fund managed by Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. made an offer to acquire the remaining 85% stake in Eagle Insurance Company Limited (MUSE:MEI.N0000) from IBL Ltd (MUSE:IBLL.N0000) and others for approximately MUR 830 million on April 29, 2019. Under the terms, HWIC will acquire 6.8 million shares in Eagle Insurance at MUR 122 per share. HWIC currently owns 1.2 million shares in Eagle Insurance representing a 15% stake. HWIC will own 100% of the shares in Eagle Insurance post completion. The transaction is subject to a) HSIC having received acceptances in respect of shares which together with the shares already held by it will represent at least 50% of the issued share capital of Eagle Insurance without prejudice to the right of HSIC to waive this condition on a specified date after the receipt of the acceptances, and accept all offers even if they do not fetch in aggregate 50% of the total shares issued. To this end, the offer is subject to HSIC obtaining the FSC's approval for the inclusion of the said condition in the offer document. b) The approval of the FSC being obtained in respect to an application pursuant to section 27 of the Insurance Act 2005. c) The objection of any other applicable regulatory or stock exchange approvals. The conditions to acceptance of the Offer have been satisfied or otherwise waived. HWIC has declared its offer as unconditional. On November 13, 2019, EIL issued its Reply Document pursuant to the Securities (Takeover) Rule 2010, whereby the Board of Eagle Insurance Company considered the Offer to be fair and reasonable and has recommended that the shareholders can accept the Offer of HWIC. HWIC's Offer is open until December 6, 2019. Frederic Boudan and Raj Tapesar of LCF Securities Ltd acted as transfer agent/registrar for HWIC. Afsar Ebrahim of BDO & Co acted as a fairness opinion provider for Eagle Insurance Company.
HWIC Asia Fund, a fund managed by Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. completed the acquisition of 85% stake in Eagle Insurance Company Limited (MUSE:MEI.N0000) from IBL Ltd (MUSE:IBLL.N0000) and others on December 6, 2019. Payment to the shareholders of Eagle Insurance Limited will be made on December 13, 2019. HWIC now holds 36.12% voting rights in Eagle Insurance Limited.
IBL Ltd is a diversified group organized around 7 areas of activity:
- mass retailing (32.4% of net sales): distribution of consumer products (food, wines and spirits, household goods, personal care products, stationery products, etc.), printing equipment and consumables, pharmaceuticals , medical equipment, chemicals and agrochemicals;
- agri-food (21%): production and processing of sugar cane, production and bottling of beverages, production and processing of fish, etc.;
- engineering and construction (20.6%): manufacturing of building materials, development of diesel and electro-diesel engine repair and maintenance solutions, engineering and construction services for construction and industry sectors, sales of industrial and agricultural machinery, rental, servicing and maintenance of building and handling equipment, ship construction and repair services, etc. ;
- hotel operation (14.8%);
- logistics and transport (4.5%);
- financial services (4.3%): banking, insurance, financing services, investment fund management, investment services, etc.;
- other (2.4%): property, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products research and development services, development of testing and certification solutions, etc.
Net sales break down geographically as follows: Mauritius (83.1%), Madagascar-Comoros-Seychelles-Reunion (7.9%), Maldives (3.9%), Europe (2.3%), the United States (0.1%) and other (2.7%).
HWIC Asia Fund, a fund managed by Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. completed the acquisition of 85% stake in Eagle Insurance Company Limited (MUSE: MEI.N0000) from IBL Ltd (MUSE