– Prudential on Sunday said it has agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance Company, from Bharti Life Ventures and 360 ONE Asset Management, as part of a strategic repositioning of its India operations.
Prudential said it will acquire a controlling stake in Bharti Life Insurance for initial cash consideration of 35 billion rupees ($364.74 million), payable on completion. An additional 7 billion rupees is potentially payable on the fulfillment of certain conditions that the Hong Kong and London-listed insurer did not specify.
Upon completion of the deal, Prudential said its Indian operations will consist of majority-owned Bharti Life Insurance and Prudential HCL Health Insurance, and minority shareholdings in two listed entities, namely 35% of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company and 22% in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company.
Prudential is required to reduce its shareholding in ICICIPru Life to under 10% to secure regulatory approval for the deal, the company said, adding that it is engaging with regulatory authorities on this process.
The deal is a strategic move to secure majority ownership of a life insurance business in India, a highly attractive market for Prudential, and enables the insurer to work closely with Bharti Enterprises‘ other businesses and related entities, the statement added.
Bharti Life will also look into securing strategic distribution agreements with Bharti Airtel and 360 ONE as part of the deal, the statement said.
($1 = 95.9600 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
