The shareholders of two of the largest Takaful insurance companies in the UAE, “Dar Al Takaful” in Dubai and “National Takaful” in Abu Dhabi, voted in favor of merging into one entity as the largest provider of takaful services in the country in terms of market share.
The two companies said in a joint statement to the Dubai Financial Market and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, that the merger is expected to be completed by the end of June, when trading will begin to take place.
Suggested form of integration
Based on the proposed form, the merger will include a process of changing the shares, so that the shareholders of “Watania” listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange will obtain shares in the “Takaful House” company, which will be the brand entity that remains listed on the Dubai Financial Market.
According to the terms of the merger, “National Takaful” shareholders will receive 0.734375 shares in “Takaful House” for each share they own in “Watania”, bringing the value of the new company to UAE 260 million dirhams ($70.7 million), according to the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
The “Noor Family Takaful” and “Noor General Takaful” of the “Takaful House” will be responsible for all the takaful documents issued by the “Takaful House” and the “National Takaful House”, while the “Takaful House” will remain the holding company that owns these two companies.
Dar Al Takaful: Injecting more energy into the Islamic insurance market
Matar Hamdan Sultan Hamad Al Ameri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dar Al Takaful, said that this proposed merger will contribute to injecting more energy and dynamism into the Islamic insurance market, which has suffered from some restrictions due to the presence of many subsidiary companies in the country, which has prevented the sector’s expansion and development.
He added: “This merger adds additional strength to Dar Al Takaful and National Takaful, and makes them a beacon of Islamic insurance in the service of policy holders, shareholders and other interested parties… In addition, the merger will contribute to supporting the state’s leading role in providing Islamic finance services worldwide.”
“National Takaful”: Meeting the changing needs of the market
For his part, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of “National Takaful”, Dr. Ali Saeed bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, said that this transaction will contribute to meeting the changing needs of the market and the public’s requirements for flexible and modern Islamic insurance solutions.
He added: “We will rely on our strong financial base and share revenues and costs as expected from this merger to provide reliable and more comprehensive insurance solutions on terms that take into account the interests of the Takaful policy holders and create significant value for our shareholders in the long term.”
It is noteworthy that Wataniya, listed on the Abu Dhabi market, acquired 4.9% of Dar Al Takaful in May 2020, for 5.88 million dirhams.
The company said at the time that this step aims to achieve investment income by increasing capital and dividends. In the same year, Dubai-listed Dar Al Takaful bought its competitor Noor Takaful for 215 million dirhams in cash, and acquired the units of Noor Takaful General and Noor Takaful Fam.
