AMI Assurances to Become BNA Assurances: A New Chapter Unfolds
The Board of Directors of AMI Assurances has convened an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders on December 9, 2024. The agenda features a single item, and a significant one at that: AMI Assurances will become BNA Assurances.
Over the years, the bank has gradually increased its stake in the insurer's capital. As of December 31, 2023, the public group holds 51.16% of the insurer's capital, equivalent to 45,579,712 shares and voting rights. This makes it the largest shareholder, far ahead of HBG Holding (14.35% of the capital) and the UGTT (9.50%). In BNA's financial statements, AMI Assurances is consolidated through global integration.
On November 15, 2021, BNA acquired 38.33% of the company's shares directly and 1.62% indirectly, following the subscription to the recapitalization launched by the insurer. The Financial Market Council exempted the bank from launching a mandatory takeover bid or a price maintenance procedure for the remaining shares it does not hold in AMI's capital. One of these two procedures is mandatory, unless exempted by the regulator, when an acquirer exceeds 40% of a company's capital, up to the ceiling set by the General Insurance Committee, i.e., 50.5% of the capital.
There are strong synergies between the two groups. For instance, AMI Assurances has subscribed to numerous bond issues by the bank, and as of December 31, 2023, the outstanding debt amounts to 24.6 billion Tunisian dinars. Additionally, there is a framework agreement for bancassurance between the two parties, generating a flow of business in favor of the company.
This name change marks the final step in a long process of rapprochement between the two entities.