Prudential Buys Kenyan Insurer in Second Africa Purchase

Prudential Plc, the U.K.’s biggest insurer by market value, agreed to buy Kenyan life insurer Shield Assurance Co., its second acquisition in Africa.

Prudential plans to invest 1.5 billion Kenyan shillings ($16.9 million) in Shield Assurance over the next 12 months and create 4,000 jobs by 2020, the London-based company said in a statement today. The company said it also intends to open an East Africa unit in Nairobi.