Sagicor raises doubt about Scotia Life T&T deal
Published:Friday | May 8, 2020 | 12:09 AM
Sagicor Finance Company has raised doubt about whether the deal to acquire the assets of Scotia Life Trinidad & Tobago will be consummated.
The uncertainty comes amid concerns of a likely global recession arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Scotia Trinidad agreement expires June 30, 2020. Given current circumstances, there can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed,” said Sagicor in a market filing on the Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX, which also noted that the transaction was not a done deal.
Sagicor Financial Company is the holding company for regional insurance conglomerate Sagicor Financial Corporation. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
In 2018, the plan was for Sagicor to acquire the life insurance operations of Scotia in Trinidad & Tobago and in Jamaica. The Jamaican transaction was cancelled last November when the parties failed to agree on a final price. The parties however stressed that the Scotia Life T&T acquisition, valued at some US$96 million, would proceed. The Jamaican transaction, worth US$144 million, would have been the larger component of a combined deal, which involved a 20-year distribution agreement under which Sagicor would underwrite insurance products sold at Scotia offices and to its clients.
In the TSX filing, Sagicor said the recent outbreak of the coronavirus has caused significant economic and financial turmoil around the world.
“These conditions are expected to continue and worsen in the near term,” said the company, adding that its “outlook for 2020 is uncertain”.
The company believes the macroeconomic environment will be materially affected in all its jurisdictions, and as such, was withdrawing its 2020 financial guidance on financial targets.