Liberty Insurance Bhd (LIB), a subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Insurance (Liberty), has received approval from the Minister of Finance to acquire AmGeneral Insurance Bhd (AmGeneral).
AmGeneral is currently 51%-owned by AmBank Group (AmBank) and 49%-owned by Insurance Australia Group (IAG). Upon deal completion, which is subject to customary closing conditions, LIB will acquire 100% shares of AmGeneral, and AmBank’s share of the sale proceeds will be in the form of cash and consideration shares, which will result in AmBank holding a 30% interest in the LIB and AmGeneral businesses.
“We anticipate signing the sale and purchase agreement in July 2022. Further announcements will be made in due course,” LIB said in a statement.
As part of the transaction, the prospective merged entity will enter into an exclusive 20-year bancassurance partnership with AmBank to distribute general insurance products. The AmGeneral and LIB operations will, at a subsequent date, be formally merged.
“This is a transformational moment for Liberty in Malaysia,” said Liberty Mutual’s Global Retail Markets East president & chief operating officer, Defne Turkes. “This approval solidifies our path toward deal completion and integration with AmGeneral, and realising the possibilities of what we can accomplish together.”
AmGeneral serves the Malaysian insurance market through approximately 1,400 employees at 33 branch locations. A top three motor insurer with a growing business in additional product lines, the company distributes its personal and commercial insurance products under the AmAssurance and Kurnia brands through more than 6,000 agents, brokers, car dealers, and franchises and affinity partners.
LIB is based in Kuala Lumpur and employs about 450 employees at six regional offices and 24 branches across Malaysia. The company distributes its personal, commercial and other product lines through multiple channels, including a 2,000-agent workforce, plus franchises, car dealers, and its banca partners.
