Loay Jassim Al-Kharafi’s Wafa Insurance moves to fully acquire Delta Insurance in Egypt

Loay Jassim Al-Kharafi has never been shy of a bold bet. The chairman of Egypt Kuwait Holding is now steering one of his most ambitious plays in years: a full takeover of Delta Insurance through EKH’s subsidiary, Wafa Insurance.

The Kuwait-born businessman has framed the move as part of a longer push to give EKH a stronger presence in Egypt’s under-served financial services market. Wafa already controls just over 63 per cent of Delta. The new mandatory tender offer seeks to buy out remaining shareholders at EGP 40 a share, paving the way to delist Delta from the Egyptian Exchange.

Al-Kharafi’s calculated push into Egyptian insurance

For decades Al-Kharafi has been known for spotting opportunities early — from power projects to fertilisers and more recently financial services. His interest in Egypt’s insurance sector dates back to EKH’s first stake in Delta. The latest move reflects his view that a fragmented market is ripe for consolidation as demand for coverage grows with new infrastructure, housing and SME activity.

People close to the company say Al-Kharafi has personally backed the strategy of combining Wafa’s life-insurance platform with Delta’s property-and-casualty book to create a more integrated insurer. If the tender succeeds, EKH would control underwriting, claims and distribution under one roof.

Regulatory process and shareholder dynamics

Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority has approved the publication of the offer prospectus, a crucial step that allows the bid to open. The offer window runs for 20 trading days, from late September to late October, during which minority shareholders can decide whether to sell.

An independent financial adviser’s valuation will guide EKH’s board and may influence how many investors tender their shares. Should enough accept, Wafa could cross the threshold for compulsory delisting. If not, it would remain a partially held subsidiary — though EKH’s existing majority position already gives it effective control.

Regional ripple effects

The takeover is widely viewed as a test of investor appetite for Egypt’s still-developing insurance market. A successful outcome would hand EKH one of the country’s few fully integrated insurance platforms, potentially improving efficiency and underwriting capacity.

Market watchers believe such a consolidation could nudge other regional players — especially Moroccan and Gulf-based insurers — to accelerate their own expansion into North Africa. It would also signal that Egyptian assets remain attractive despite recent currency and regulatory turbulence.

For Al-Kharafi, the wager is as much about timing as about scale: betting that economic reforms and rising demand for protection products will reward those who move first and decisively.