Fairfax acquires Malaysian insurer

Financial services company Fairfax Financial, through its wholly-owned subsidiary The Pacific Insurance Berhad, has acquired Malaysian insurer MCIS.

MCIS is an established life and general insurer in Malaysia with over $55 million in gross written premiums in 2013 for its general insurance business.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015. On closing, the general insurance business of MCIS will integrate with Pacific Insurance and become part of the Fairfax Asia group under the leadership of Ramaswamy Athappan.

"We are thrilled to have the general insurance business of MCIS join the Fairfax group and we look forward to working with Koperasi MCIS as our new partners in Malaysia," said Prem Watsa , chairman and chief executive officer of Fairfax. "MCIS has a very strong presence in the Malaysian insurance sector and this is a great opportunity for us to expand our operations in the region."