I&M Bank acquires Youjays Insurance Brokers

I&M Bank has acquired an insurance brokerage firm, Youjays Insurance Brokers, as it eyes to penetrate the insurance market.

The middle tier lender said it made the acquisition through its wholly owned subsidiary, I&M Insurance Agency Limited (IMIAL) has announced the successful completion of acquisition of Youjays Insurance Brokers Limited (YIB).

IMIAL acquired 100 percent of the shareholding of the insurance broking firm simultaneously merging its operations with the Group’s Bancassurance division.

The acquisition was completed upon receipt of necessary regulatory approvals from the Central Bank of Kenya, the Competition of Kenya Authority of Kenya and the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Kenya.

IMIAL and YIB entered into this agreement in October 2017 to acquire all of the issued share capital of YIB.

The just concluded deal underpins the Group’s efforts in expanding revenue streams for its non-funded income portfolio in line with its iMara corporate strategy.

Commenting on the acquisition, Kihara Maina, IMIAL’s Director and CEO of I&M Bank, Kenya noted, “At I&M, we believe in forming strategic partnerships that place the Group in a position to take advantage of growth in the industry, which ultimately increases our shareholders’ value.

“This merger is yet another step in I&M Group’s journey of strategic mergers and acquisitions over the last decade. It will definitely scale up the Bank’s Bancassurance business portfolio where customers will continue to enjoy a wider range of insurance solutions via our network. I believe that the move will also help us penetrate the Bancassurance market further while continuing to deliver value to customers through market driven insurance solutions,” Kihara reiterated.

IMIAL on its part is expected to benefit from additional capacity and expertise to grow the Bancassurance offering, which provides brokerage services for personal and commercial lines.

Further, the Bank’s insurance agency also stands to benefit from YIB’s long heritage, growing customer base of over 400 customers and a strong insurance premium portfolio of over Kshs. 400 million.

Speaking at the completion ceremony, YIB’s Director Mr. Uday Shah said that in selling the business to I&M Group, our clients, who we have served for more than 30 years, are in the right hands and will continue to enjoy the same level of personalized service that they experienced in the past.

I&M Group continues to focus on mergers and acquisitions as part of its growth strategy. The transaction with YIB adds to a list of previous successful strategic alliances that the Group has effectively completed, including the more recent ones such as the acquisition of Giro Commercial Bank Limited and I&M Burbidge Capital Limited.

YIB has been in existence in the Kenyan market since 1987 and deals with life and non-life insurance business. On the other hand, IMIAL was set up in 2014 and has continued to offer a wide range of insurance products from several leading insurance companies covering Travel, Motor, Household, Child Education and Personal Accident insurance.