Sanlam offers R505 a share to buy out Santam minorities in R20.7bn deal

Sanlam has offered R505 a share, or R20.7bn, to buy out the minority shareholders of Santam, South Africa's largest short-term insurer, in a deal that would take the group's ownership of Santam from 62.7% to 100%. BusinessLIVE reported that the proposal, unveiled earlier this month, is one of the biggest takeovers in financial services.

Sanlam's R505-a-Share Offer for Santam

Sanlam is a South African financial services group offering life and general insurance, asset management, and credit and banking. Santam is the country's largest short-term insurer, founded in 1918 and listed on the JSE in 1964.

The deal, if approved by Santam shareholders and regulators, would end an era for Santam, which was founded to help grow Afrikaner participation in the economy as the Afrikaner Broederbond pushed for the interests of Afrikaners. Sanlam's CEO, Paul Hanratty, said the buyout is one of the levers of the group's long-term plan to simplify its South African structure.

"Provided Santam shareholders vote in favour of the proposal, it will enable us to reduce the points of entry into the group, improve our capital allocation decisions going forward and take full advantage of developing the South African ecosystem," Hanratty said at the group's capital markets day in October. He said the step is consistent with Sanlam's strategy and "improves the prospects both for Sanlam and for Santam."

Hanratty, an actuary who spent 30 years at Old Mutual after joining in 1984, steps down at the end of 2027. The proposed Santam transaction is largely seen as his final big move. Sanlam has also acquired Assupol, taken full control of BrightRock and formed SanlamAllianz with Allianz. Santam's Lloyd's syndicate, Santam Syndicate 1918, started underwriting in January and earned R1.3bn in incremental business, BusinessLIVE reported, with international gross written premium at 23% of total against a 20% target.

Sanlam's Earlier Deals and Approvals

In October 2026, the Competition Commission of India unconditionally approved Sanlam's move past 50% in Shriram Life, Mondaq reported. SEMM, part of Sanlam, holds SLIC, which provides life insurance in India and is held by Shriram Capital Private Limited and SEMM.

Sanlam aims to attract 2-4 million banking customers by 2030 through its GoTyme partnership, with a R10bn loan book and a soft-launch banking app in November, BusinessLIVE reported. The group expects the banking proposition to break even by 2030, spending up to R200m annually.

In September 2026, Sanlam wrote down its 60% stake in AfroCentric to nil after Bonitas severed ties, but Hanratty ruled out selling, BusinessLIVE reported.

Santam Vote and Regulatory Approval

The proposal requires approval from Santam shareholders and regulators, BusinessLIVE reported. Sanlam received the greenlight from regulators to sell into banking using TymeBank's licence from 2027.