Insurance Companies Act

Marginal note:Restriction on control and substantial investments

• 552 (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (3.4), no society shall acquire control of, or hold, acquire or increase a substantial investment in, any entity other than a permitted entity.

• Marginal note:Exception: indirect investments

  (2) A society may acquire control of, or acquire or increase a substantial investment in, an entity other than a permitted entity by way of

  • (a) an acquisition of control of an entity referred to in any of paragraphs 554(1)(a) to (c), or of a prescribed entity, that controls or has a substantial investment in the entity; or

  • (b) an acquisition of shares or ownership interests in the entity by

    • (i) an entity referred to in any of paragraphs 554(1)(a) to (c), or a prescribed entity, that is controlled by the society, or

    • (ii) an entity controlled by an entity referred to in any of paragraphs 554(1)(a) to (c), or a prescribed entity, that is controlled by the society.

• Marginal note:Exception: temporary investments, realizations and loan workouts

  (3) A society may acquire control of, or acquire or increase a substantial investment in, an entity by way of

  • (a) a temporary investment permitted by section 557;

  • (b) an acquisition of shares of a body corporate or of ownership interests in an unincorporated entity permitted by section 558; or

  • (c) a realization of security permitted by section 559.

• Marginal note:Business growth fund

  (3.1) Subject to section 551.1 and subsections (3.2) to (3.4), a society may hold, acquire or increase a substantial investment in the business growth fund or any entity that the business growth fund controls.

• Marginal note:For greater certainty

  (3.2) For greater certainty, a society is prohibited from acquiring control of the business growth fund or any entity that the business growth fund controls.

• Marginal note:Prohibition — entity

  (3.3) A society is prohibited from holding or acquiring a substantial investment in the business growth fund or any entity that the business growth fund controls if the business growth fund or any entity that the business growth fund controls holds or acquires shares of, or other ownership interests in, any of the following entities, or in any entity that controls any of the following entities:

  • (a) an entity referred to in any of paragraphs 495(1)(a) to (j);

  • (b) an entity that is primarily engaged in the leasing of motor vehicles in Canada for the purpose of extending credit to a customer or financing a customer’s acquisition of a motor vehicle;

  • (c) an entity that is primarily engaged in providing temporary possession of personal property, including motor vehicles, to customers in Canada for a purpose other than to finance the customer’s acquisition of the property;

  • (d) an entity that acts as an insurance broker or agent in Canada; or

  • (e) an entity that is engaged in any prescribed activity.

• Marginal note:Prohibition — capital and loans

  (3.4) A society is prohibited from holding or acquiring a substantial investment in the business growth fund or any entity that the business growth fund controls if the business growth fund or any entity that the business growth fund controls holds shares of, or other ownership interests in, an entity or holds a loan made to an entity and, in respect of that entity and its affiliates, the aggregate value of the following exceeds $100,000,000:

  • (a) all ownership interests that are held by the society, the society’s subsidiaries, the business growth fund or the entities that the business growth fund controls, the value of those ownership interests as determined by the amount paid for them at the time each was first acquired by any of those entities; and

  • (b) the outstanding principal of all loans held by the business growth fund or the entities that the business growth fund controls.

• Marginal note:Exception: uncontrolled event

  (4) A society is deemed not to contravene subsection (1) if the society acquires control of, or acquires or increases a substantial investment in, an entity solely as the result of an event not within the control of the society.

• Marginal note:Non-application of subsection (2)

  (4.1) No society shall, under subsection (2), acquire control of, or acquire or increase a substantial investment in, an entity referred to in paragraph 554(1)(c).

• Marginal note:Holding

  (4.2) If a society holds a substantial investment in an entity referred to in paragraph 554(1)(c) that it acquired or increased under subsection (2) before the coming into force of subsection (4.1), the society may continue to hold that substantial investment.

• Marginal note:Application of other provision

  (5) Despite having acquired control of, or a substantial investment in, an entity under a particular provision of this Part, a society may continue to control the entity or hold the substantial investment in the entity as though it had made the acquisition under another provision of this Part so long as the conditions of that other provision are met.

• Marginal note:Timing of deemed acquisition

  (6) If a society decides to exercise its right under subsection (5), the society is deemed to be acquiring the control or the substantial investment under the other provision.