Fairfax to part exit India's ICICI Lombard

The deal values the company at INR203 billion ($3.1 billion), according to a release, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017 pending regulatory approval. The sale will leave Fairfax with a 22% stake, with Warburg Pincus on 9% and the other investors taking 1.6% each.

ICICI Lombard was founded in 2001 as a joint venture between Fairfax and ICICI Bank, whose 63% interest will not be affected by the sale. Fairfax paid ICICI Bank $234 million in 2015 for a 9% stake, giving it a 35% holding.

The company offers a range of insurance products, including travel, car and two-wheeler, health, home and business insurance. It targets both urban and rural customers and claims to be India’s largest private sector insurance provider, with gross written premiums of $1.2 billion for 2016 financial year.

Fairfax is a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and investment management.

The Canada-based firm launched its India investment unit in 2014 and raised $1 billion for it the following February through a combined IPO and private placement, with a similar fundraise last year bringing $500 million. Earlier this year it bought a 38% stake in Bangalore International Airport for INR25 billion, its biggest investment to date in India.

India’s insurance sector has attracted considerable interest from foreign and domestic investors in recent years. Apis Partners and ICICI Venture committed a reported INR3.2 billion to Star Health & Allied Insurance last September, while KKR and Temasek Holdings in December invested INR18 billion in SBI Life, the life insurance subsidiary of the State Bank of India.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Financials
• Trade sale
• Expansion
• India
• insurance
• Warburg Pincus Asia
• IIFL Wealth Managment
• Exit
• Growth capital