(a) Notwithstanding any of the provisions or limitations of this section or of any other section of this code, a domestic insurance company may, at the time of original issue or at any other time, with the approval of the commissioner, acquire and hold:

(1) More than fifty percent (50%) of the shares of outstanding voting stock of any other solvent insurance company, domestic or foreign;

(2) More than fifty percent (50%) of the shares of outstanding voting stock of any domestic or foreign business corporation other than an insurance company, which corporation was formed or acquired for, and necessary and incidental to, the convenient operation of its insurance business, the administration of any of its lawful investments or the lawful business of any affiliated company; provided, that the stock or shares in any real estate company and the real property owned by the company shall be subject to §§ 56-3-405 and 56-3-406, and the amount invested in the stock or shares shall be included with the aggregate of all the insurance company's holdings and investments for the purposes of § 56-3-405(6); or

(3) Stock of an insurance company formed under the laws of a foreign country, but the aggregate amount of the holdings shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the admitted assets of the insurance company.

(b) The total holdings of a domestic insurance company of shares of voting stock authorized to be acquired and held under this section, together with the investments made under the authority of § 56-3-402(3) and (4), shall not at any time exceed the amount by which the capital and surplus of the company exceed the minimum capital and surplus required for the kind of insurance it is authorized to transact in this state; provided, that for purposes of determining the holdings of the stock pursuant to this section, the value of the stock shall be computed at cost or at market value on the December 31 preceding, whichever is lower and that, if there is no market on that date, then at cost or book value on that date, whichever is lower.