Clyde & Co, Dubai, has underlined the strength of its position in the market for legal services to the insurance industry in the Middle East, representing global insurer Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Oman (RSA Oman) on its recently announced acquisition of the third largest insurer in Oman, Al Ahlia Insurance Company SAOC from Oman National Investment Corporation Holding (ONIC).
The price for the acquisition, which is conditional on regulatory consents, is payable in a mix of cash and shares by RSA Oman, creating the largest insurance group in Oman by net written premium. Al Ahlia's gross written premiums in 2008 were OMR 25 million (GBP 40 million).
The acquisition team was led by Clyde & Co's senior Corporate Insurance partner in the region, James O'Shea, assisted by Insurance/Reinsurance partner Peter Hodgins, associates Mansi Kochhar and Janice Spencer, and trainee Barbara Riggs.
O'Shea commented: "The RSA acquisition further confirms Clyde & Co's view that the Middle East region has now become a priority for investment by global insurance and reinsurance players. We believe that the coming years will see a major wave of consolidation and M & A activity in the sector as the industry seeks to capitalise on the potential created by the growth in the market for more sophisticated insurance services in both the retail and the commercial insurance sectors."
"We were delighted to have been selected by RSA to work with them on this move. The share for share element of the deal, giving ONIC a stake in Al Ahlia's future growth, is unusual for deals of this kind and presented novel regulatory and legal challenges for everyone in the team. The coming months and years look to be exciting ones for the insurance and reinsurance sectors as a whole."
Paul Whittaker, CEO of RSA's Emerging Markets, commented, “The acquisition of Al Ahlia creates a market leading insurer in Oman and enhances our Emerging Markets position in the Middle East.”