Alexander Forbes seeks to settle Sh554 million dispute out of court

South African financial advisory company Alexander Forbes has entered into negotiations with Kenyan firm Zanele Investment Holdings in a bid to settle a Sh554 million loan dispute that is now the subject of a court case.

High Court judge Grace Nzioka on Monday adjourned the case filed by Zanele to stop Alexander Forbes from recovering the disputed amount after the two parties requested for time to reach a possible settlement that would see the matter withdrawn.

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Justice Nzioka directed the parties to appear before her tomorrow to confirm whether a settlement has been reached.

At the time of the request, Alexander Forbes had filed an application seeking to have the dispute referred to arbitration as per an agreement it signed with Zanele in 2012.

“By consent of the parties, the matter be mentioned on July 28, 2017 to allow the parties to negotiate a possible settlement,” the judge ordered.

Alexander Forbes sold its Nairobi-based healthcare arm to Zanele in 2012, citing an Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) directive requiring companies offering medical insurance services to either convert to insurance companies or revert to brokerage by the end of December 2012.

At the time the healthcare arm had 55,472 policy holders.

Zanele says that the sale deal was to see Alexander Forbes advance it Sh524 million to cover liabilities that the healthcare arm was bearing. The money, Zanele adds, was however disguised as a loan.

The Kenyan firm says that Alexander Forbes only advanced to it Sh405 million and is yet to remit the Sh121 million balance to date.