Warburg Pincus has acquired Legal & General’s 26 per cent stake in IndiaFirst Life Insurance.
“Legal & General has reached an agreement to sell its 26 per cent stake in IndiaFirst Life to an affiliate of Warburg Pincus LLC,” the private sector insurer said in a statement on Friday, adding that it would be subject to approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, along with other regulatory approvals.
It did not disclose the value of the transaction but said that Ambit Private Limited was the financial advisor for the transaction.
The move comes as Legal & General has refocussed its insurance business in the UK and the US. “…as a consequence, we have disposed of a number of operations, including our businesses in The Netherlands, Ireland, France, Egypt and The Gulf. We are now following this strategy in relation to our stake in IndiaFirst Life,” said Simon Burke, Group Commercial Director, Legal & General.
IndiaFirst Life Insurance is a joint venutre between Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and Legal & General Group Plc. Bank of Baroda holds a 44 per cent stake while Andhra Bank holds 30 per cent equity in the insurer.
RM Vishakha, Managing Director and CEO, IndiaFirst Life, welcomed Warburg Pincus as a shareholder and said it would support and drive focus towards value creation.
Launched in 2010, Mumbai-headquartered IndiaFirst Life Insurance has over ₹12,622 crore of assets under management, as on March 31, 2018. It posted a growth of 43 per cent in 2017-18 on individual APE basis and declared a profit of ₹51 crore.