Sarnara Cap leads race for Birla’s insurance broking firm

Amazon.com Inc.’s Indian private equity partner Samara Capital has emerged as the frontrunner to buy the insurance broking unit of Aditya Birla Capital Ltd, according to sources.

“Over the past few weeks, Samara Capital and Aditya Birla Capital (the promoter of Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers Ltd) have been negotiating the valuation. For Samara, entering the financial services business is a crucial part of its strategy,” one of the two people cited above said, adding the private equity firm has made an offer for the insurance broker. If the negotiations are successful, a deal may be reached at a value of Rs. 800-1,000 crore, making it one of the largest transactions in the broking space, the people said, requesting anonymity.