Industrial-Alliance Life Insurance Co. is launching a friendly takeover bid for Aegis Insurance Corp. (Aegis) and its affiliate company, Sascar Management Ltd.

Aegis is a Saskatchewan-based life insurance company that primarily offers credit insurance products with automobile dealers in Western Canada. Sascar, also based in Saskatchewan, is a holding company owning shares of Aegis.

The offer contemplates the purchase of all outstanding Class A and Class B shares of Aegis and all outstanding Class A common shares of Sascar. Industrial Alliance is offering $44.8718 for each Class A share of Aegis, $190 for each Class B share of Aegis and $2,000 for each Class A common share of Sascar. Aegis and Sascar shareholders can elect to receive these amounts in cash or common shares of Industrial Alliance.

The offer is open for acceptance until 5:00 p.m. (Saskatchewan time) on July 19. To facilitate the transaction, Industrial Alliance has agreed to issue from treasury up to 275,000 of its common shares.

The boards of directors of Aegis and Sascar have unanimously recommended to their shareholders to accept Industrial Alliance’s offer.

“This offer shows Industrial Alliance’s desire to remain the primary insurer in the Canadian credit insurance market with automobile dealers in all regions of the country,” declared Yvon Charest, president and CEO of Industrial Alliance. “This offer is part of our strategy to make the Industrial Alliance Group a national insurance organization in promising and targeted segments.”

In May 2000, Industrial Alliance acquired Mécagroupe Inc., one of the main suppliers of credit insurance to automobile dealers in Quebec. If the takeover bid launched today is accepted, Industrial Alliance will strengthen its presence in this segment, with over a third of the Canadian market.

The credit insurance operations of Aegis will complement those of Industrial Alliance, which distributes credit insurance products among automobile dealers through the SAL Marketing Group of its Western-Canadian subsidiary, IA “Pacific” Life.