Insurance Australia Group sells stake in SBI General Insurance

Insurance Australia Group, the joint venture partner in SBI General Insurance, has recently said that they have entered into definitive agreements with an aim of selling its entire stake of 26% in the general insurance company with a couple of private equity investors. Insurance Australia Group will sell 16.01% of its 26% stake to Napean Opportunities LLP, an affiliate of Premji Invest, a private equity firm. The rest 9.99% will be acquired by WP Honey Wheat lnvestment Ltd of the Warburg Pincus group. IAG MD&CEO Peter Harmer said, “IAG has enjoyed a strong and successful relationship with SBI since establishing SBI General joint venture in 2009. With our sharpened focus on core territories of Australia and New Zealand, now is the right time of IAG to exit its investment in SBI General.” Upon the completion of the deal, SBI will still continue to be the majority shareholder in the general insurance company holding 70% stake and Premji Invest along with Warburg Pinvus will jointly hold 26%. The press release by IAG said, ”The transactions, which are subject to regulatory processes and approvals, are expected to complete during IAG’s financial year ending June 2020”. SBI General was valued at over Rs 12,000 crore recently following last year SBI’s 4% stake sale in its general insurance arm for over Rs 482 crore.