Dar Al Takaful (DAT) and Watania have completed another condition precedent in the merger process aiming to create one of the leading Takaful providers in the UAE with the end of the 45-day policyholders’ notice period with no objections received.
The transaction is at the final stages of obtaining regulatory approvals from the Central Bank and the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and is on track for completion by end of June 2022, said a statement.
Under the merger plan, shareholders of Watania will receive shares in DAT, which would be the remaining entity that will continue to be listed on Dubai Financial Market (DFM). Watania shareholders would receive 0.734375 DAT shares for every Watania share that they own, valuing the merged company at AED260 million.
As part of the merger’s legal process, trading in Watania shares on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange has ceased as of the closing of the trading session on June 15, 2022 until the official delisting of the company from Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), it said.
All DAT and Watania policies would be held by two DAT subsidiaries: Noor Takaful Family and Noor Takaful General.
The merger is designed to create a transformational Takaful leader in the UAE’s fragmented insurance market, by leveraging synergies and economies of scale to create innovative new products and provide world class customer service, said the statement.
Gautam Datta, Chief Executive Officer of DAT, said: “We have the vision and knowhow to immediately start executing our ambitious plans to build a national and regional Takaful leader that is strongly committed to product innovation, service excellence, productivity, and shareholder value creation. The insurance industry is on a growth trajectory as the region emerges into a new era following the worst impacts of the pandemic. We are building a strong, scalable, and adaptable business model that is based on best practices and underpinned by clear values that will be able to meet the changing demands of customers and the overall market.”
