End of an era for iconic 108-year-old South African insurance company

Sanlam has made an offer to buy Santam, taking its majority ownership of the company to full ownership and delisting it from the JSE.

Santam Limited was registered in Cape Town on 28 March 1918 as South Africa’s pioneering short-term insurance and trust company.

The company was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 1964 under the insurance sector. 

The insurance group has secondary listings on the Namibian Stock Exchange and A2X Markets Exchange.

Santam is a subsidiary of the South African financial services group Sanlam, which holds 62.3% of its shares.

The company, headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, offers general insurance products and services to individuals, commercial, and corporate markets.

Santam operates in South Africa, Namibia and selected emerging markets through a network of intermediaries, direct, and partnership channels.

Its portfolio of insurance products includes car, property, liability, engineering, agricultural, tourism, leisure and entertainment, and reinsurance.

In addition, the company provides claims, brokerage, and SOS services to its customers.

In South Africa and Namibia, it served more than 1 million policyholders, ranging from individuals to commercial and specialist business owners and institutions.

Santam Syndicate 1918 commenced underwriting in London on 1 January 2026, complemented by a reinsurance office at India’s GIFT City on 1 April 2026.

Tavaziva Madzinga serves as group chief executive officer, and Nombulelo Moholi serves as board chair.

Sanlam plans to buy out Santam shareholders

On Monday, 5 October 2026, Sanlam and Santam released a joint statement regarding the buyout of Santam shares.

They have entered into an agreement under which Sanlam will make an offer to Santam shareholders for all of the company’s shares.

For R505 per share, Sanlam is hoping to acquire 100% of Santam and make it a wholly owned subsidiary.

Sanlam is already the majority shareholder in Santam, with a 62.7% shareholding as at 18 September 2026.

Santam is currently listed on the JSE with a market capitalisation of R54.67 billion at a share price of R474.87.

While a large company, this pales in comparison to Sanlam, which has a market cap of R170.55 billion.

This acquisition, if approved, will mark the start of a new era for these two companies, which have always been closely intertwined.

Both companies were established in 1918 in Cape Town, aiming to promote economic empowerment and financial self-reliance among Afrikaners.

Santam was registered first, in March 1918, as a short-term insurer and trust company, with Sanlam spun off in June that year to handle long-term life assurance.

Therefore, at inception, Santam was the parent company holding the majority of Sanlam’s shares.

However, as Sanlam’s life insurance operations grew rapidly, they started to outpace Santam’s short-term operations in terms of assets and market capitalisation.

Thus, in 1954, the group reversed its ownership structure, with Sanlam acquiring the majority stake in Santam.

Sanlam became the overarching parent holding entity, holding 60% of Santam, which was listed as a separate company on the JSE.

Should Sanlam’s acquisition be approved by all the requisite entities, Santam will be delisted from the JSE and become an unlisted subsidiary.

The acquisition will be done through a scheme of arrangement whereby Sanlam Life will acquire the Santam shares from existing shareholders.