Government seeks buyer for Middlesea shareholding

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David Lindsay

As part of its asset divestiture programme, the government is seeking a buyer for its shareholding in Middlesea Insurance, the company announced this week as part of its obligations as a Malta Stock Exchange-listed company.
The government currently owns a 23.11 per which cent stake in the company – 15.78 per cent in direct shareholding and a further 7.33 per cent held by Air Malta, which is, in turn, owned by the government.
In a statement released this week, Middlesea says it has been advised that Spanish insurer Corporacion Mapfre S.A. has indicated it is interested, in principle, in increasing its shareholding in Middlesea. Mapfre, which currently holds a 5.49 per cent stake in Middlesea, would be prevented from acquiring government’s full shareholding since Middlesea’s Memorandum and Articles of Association caps the stake owned in the company by any single shareholder at 21 per cent, while Mapfre’s current shareholding plus that of government would amount to 28.6 per cent.
Negotiations over the terms, conditions and price of the prospective sale, however, have not yet taken place.
While the Madrid-based Mapfre carries out the majority of its business in its home country, through its subsidiaries it provides life and non-life insurance and reinsurance around the globe including most of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and all of Central and South America. Mapfre’s European subsidiaries focus on car insurance while in the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas Mapfre sells insurance coverage for everything from home and health to life and livestock.
Apart from the 5.49 per cent shareholding, Mapfre holds other business interests with the Maltese insurer.
In 2000 Middlesea purchased a 51 per cent stake in Mapfre Progress S.p.A, a non-life insurance company based in Sicily that operates across southern Italy. As part of the agreement, Mapfre retained a 49 per cent stake. The purchase formed part of Middlesea’s plans to develop and diversify its portfolio as part of its international investment plans within the Euro-Med region and to introduce other Group products to the Italian market.