Colombia’s Sura exits insurance sector in Argentina and El Salvador
Related practice areas: Insurance & Reinsurance | Mergers & Acquisitions – Corporate
LATIN LAWYER
Several firms have helped Colombian investor Grupo Sura divest its insurance businesses in Argentina and El Salvador.
In the most recent transaction, Arias (El Salvador) helped Sura’s insurance subsidiary Suramericana divest its local operations, known locally as ASESUISA, to Honduras-headquartered finance group Ficohsa.
Posse Herrera Ruiz in Bogotá and Consortium Legal (El Salvador) advised the buyer.
The deal was signed on 14 August for US$44 million.
ASESUISA’s insurance services are used by 700,000 policyholders in El Salvador, while several companies and banking and pension groups rely on its insurance offering.
Through the acquisition Ficohsa, expands its insurance portfolio, which is already present in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the US.
Founded in 1994, Ficohsa also provides banking, brokerage and currency exchange services.
The sale of its Salvadorean business comes days after Suramericana sold its Seguros Sura business in Argentina to local holding company Grupo Galicia.
Beccar Varela in Buenos Aires advised Suramericana on the sale of its Argentine insurance offering.
The buyer enlisted local firm Cibils, Labougle, Ibañez Abogados for the transaction, which was signed on 11 August for US$19 million.
In Argentina, Seguros Sura owns 13 branches and serves 800,000 customers. Galicia plans to use boost its digital technology offering with the acquisition.
Galicia’s portfolio also includes asset manager Fima, fintech Naranja X and agritech platform Nera. The group was founded in 1905.
In a public statement, Suramericana said that it made both sales to improve its capital structure.
In addition to Colombia, Sura also operates its Seguros Sura insurance business in Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay. Colombian parent group Sura is an active dealmaker in Latin America. In June, Colombian industrial conglomerate Argos swapped its shares in local food company Nutresa for a stake in Sura after several failed hostile takeover bids.
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Colombia’s Sura exits insurance sector in Argentina and El Salvador
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