Pat On The Back
Barbados company buys Gerling at Lloyd’s
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados— The Barbados based life and pensions unit of Sagicor Financial Corp., has bought the Gerling at Lloyd’s Group through its subsidiary Sagicor Europe Ltd.
Subject to regulatory approval, the rapidly expanding Sagicor will acquire the Gerling managing agency, Lloyd’s of London syndicate 1206, its capital provider and its service company. The syndicate currently has capacity of £60.25 million ($121.6 million) and specializes in short tail lines of business.
The management team at GAL is led by chief executive officer Geoff Halpin and will remain with GAL. The seller is Gerling-Konzern Allgemeine Versicherungs Aktiengesellschaft, part of the Cologne, Germany based Gerling group that was taken over by Hanover-based Talanx Group.
Sagicor has expanded rapidly over the last five years within the Caribbean and into the United States and in February signaled its intent in Europe as it gained a listing on the London Stock Exchange. Dodridge Miller, Sagicor President and chief executive officer of Sagicor Financial Corp., said: “This is our first acquisition in Europe since obtaining a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange and this extends our operating base to the important London market, which is in line with our international business strategy. Geoff Halpin has established a strong team at Gerling which is robustly growing its business. This acquisition will further enhance the profile of the Sagicor Group and I am pleased to welcome them to Sagicor.”
Congratulations to Sagicor Financial Corporation, a Barbadian flavored company, which continues to demonstrate what visionary leadership can accomplish. We cannot forget the struggle which in hindsight maybe responsible when Hillary Beckles and others kicked the then Mutual Assurance in the ass.
Kick In The Ass
BU wish to tell Sir Cow that he should stop disrespecting Barbadians with his shallow remarks. Barbados because of the current sate of its business environment is an attraction to every Tom, Dick and Harry. Why should Barbadians not be concerned with the “open door” policy of the government? Sir Cow we expect that like all of us you are entitled to view the world through your rose colored glasses but we thank Jehovah that there are others who have glasses of a different color.
Congrats are in order for Sagicor. Of course the impact of this acquisition on the UK economy is hardly a ripple, in contrast to the Tsuami effect of a BS&T takeover.
I distinctly remember Sir Charles emphasizing the need for local control during the takever battle for Pine Hill dairy. He clearly has had a conversion of some sort, or the nationalist argument is used conveniently when it furthers his commercial interest.
As I look at the takeover of many public firms in Barbados by Trinidadian interests and the public responses, I have to ask the question. Why should black Bajans shed a tear over the transfer of wealth from a narrow bajan elite to a trini elite?
softman, I don’t believe most Bajans (regardless of colour) are overly concerned about the proposed merger; that said, we should be concerned about where it will leave us, when you consider that our first world government has acted in collusion in allowing this company to create a 80% monopoly in the food distribution network in Barbados. I know we are all feeling the effects of this and I don’t believe it will get any better regardless of who owns it. On a different note, I can recall a former Opposition Leader lamenting the fact that average Barbadians were unable to invest, not for a lack of interest or knowledge; but for a lack of disposable income … I recently heard similar calls for Barbadians to invest more from the same individual … how can we do that when the majority of what we earn goes to traders, and the remainder of it goes to Government’s coffers in the form of VAT. I applaud him for encouraging Barbadians to invest more, but with what?
FamilyB~We think that you are burning hot on the issue of the lack of a culture of investment which does not exist in Barbados. In the USA and other developed countries the volume of information and the easy access for any John Public to invest is pervasive. In the Caribbean public companies have been run with lots of patrimony and secrecy and by whites. Now tell me how black and suspicious middle class would want to invest in these public companies?
Who is the Nation News cartoonist?
marco~the cartoons were previously done by Winston Jordon but the most recent have a signature which we are not familiar. There is an email address under the signature which reads like guyo@caribsurf.com. We are sure that a quick call to the Nation Publishing can give you the answer that you want.
David~ Thanks for the info.
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