The BEIGE Group (TBG), a financial services provider, has announced the completion of its successful acquisition of Unique Life Assurance Company Limited (U-Life), a licensed life assurance firm in Ghana.

The transaction had been ongoing for some time to ensure compliance with regulatory due diligence and involves a one-year business transformation plan including a growth in U-Life’s capital base. TBG has already invested a significant majority stake in U-Life and has also paid over GHC1.3million in claims to ensure that commitments to customers are met on time.

Immediate impact of the acquisition

U-Life will continue to provide policy administration and claims services. Customers will also continue to access the company’s full suite of life and casualty products and services.

Without interrupting the smooth flow of the day-to-day business activities, the business model of the institution and their management structure would be improved to conform to the standards of TBG.

Thus, U-Life would be rebranded to conform to the brand standards of BEIGE and its procedures also transformed to reflect the standards of The BEIGE Group, to provide a broad range of financial services.

The impact on BEIGE

This acquisition further strengthens TBG’s market position in the provision of financial services and significantly increases the group’s assets under management.

Approximately 550 Insurance employees from operations, predominantly marketing, will join U-Life and provide dedicated support beyond this one-year business transformation plan.

Together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, TBG is currently providing direct employment to about 4,000 people and serving a clientele base in excess of 600,000 clients.

BEIGE’s evolution trajectory

TBG’s evolution has extended its portfolio of businesses from the initial Banking services to Pensions, Insurance and Investments. The company recently acquired two (2) corporate trustee firms as a market entry strategy into Pensions. These moves go to confirm related press statements made earlier by the CEO, Mr. Mike Nyinaku.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mr. Nyinaku explained that the decision to acquire U-Life was a comfortable one as the business has shown promising prospects.

“Customers can expect an aligned proposition that utilises the reputation and technical expertise of TBG to deliver an integrated service and improved value to clients,” he added.

“We are carefully executing an agenda whose end is to place us in a position of advantage as we seek to establish a platform that will serve as Ghana’s supermarket for Financial Services. We have the distribution network that would support an effective roll-out of a variety of Insurance Products to the market so we’d hit the ground running,” Mr. Nyinaku said.

Unique Life Assurance Company Limited was established in August 2007 and offers life products for the lower to middle-income market. The company has 12 branches nationwide in Accra, Tema, Kumasi, Takoradi, Koforidua, Hohoe, Suhum, Nkawkaw, Sunyani, Techiman, Tarkwa and Obuasi.

Key among the products Unique Life offers are : Workers Policy, Prestige Policy, Schooling Policy, Loan Protection Policy, Mortgage Policy, Ahutor Policy, Driver Pa Policy, among others.