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Old Mutual says pays $98 mln for stake in African insurer

(Adds value of transaction, Old Mutual (Other OTC: ODMTY - news) 's comment)

NAIROBI, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Anglo-South African financial services company Old Mutual said on Friday it had bought a 23.3 percent stake in Kenyan insurer UAP Holdings for $97.6 million.

The acquisition is in line with Old Mutual's aim of expanding its business in Sub-Saharan Africa, where it has spent 700 million rand ($60 million) of a 5 billion rand programme to acquire businesses, focusing on Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

It acquired the shares in UAP from Kenyan investment firm Centum and a Kenyan entrepreneur who is also a director at Centum.

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Centum has investments in both listed and private firms and is diversifying into Kenya's fast-growing property sector, while Kenyan-headquartered UAP Holdings is also present in Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"UAP is an ideal and complementary fit to our existing Kenyan businesses and we look forward to deepening and broadening our relationship in the future," Ralph Mupita, chief executive of Old Mutual Emerging Markets, said in a statement.

Centum said in a statement late on Thursday it had agreed to sell its 13.75 percent stake in UAP Holdings, while Chris Kirubi, one of its directors and shareholder, had separately agreed to sell another 9.58 percent shareholding.

Centum's shares were up 0.8 percent at 63.00 shillings on the Nairobi Securities Exchange at 1051 GMT. ($1 = 11.5730 rand) (Reporting by George Obulutsa; Additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn in London; editing by Keith Weir)