MBO revitalises Zurich firm

10 March 2006

Zurich International Life (ZIL) is selling its Middle East brokerage business in a management buy-out (MBO). The brokerage's former managing director Mahmoud Nodjoumi will purchase the company and the sale is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter. The new company is applying for a licence from the Economy & Planning Ministry. ZIL claims to be the leading life insurance provider in the UAE.

ZIL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Switzerland's Zurich Financial Services Group, will continue to manufacture and manage product distribution from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). 'This is an MBO of the sales force,' says ZIL chief executive officer Martin Davis. 'We're focusing our efforts on building an administration and operations centre in the DIFC to service anywhere in the world. The DIFC will be our second global hub.' ZIL is headquartered in the Isle of Man.

The new company will inherit ZIL's offices in the UAE and Bahrain and its 265 staff. It will be an independent distributor of family and personal insurance, including takaful products. 'The market is really untapped,' says Nodjoumi. 'The Middle East market is worth $5,300 million and accounts for only 1 per cent of global insurance premiums. Premium projections for the Middle East are expected to go up $44,000 million in the next seven years.' The UAE accounts for $971 million of the current insurance market.

'Projections for the growth of the expatriate community [in the UAE] and for wealth are great. These people will require insurance,' says Davies.

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