Exide set to take full control of ING Vysya
24 Jan 2013
Vehicle battery maker Exide Industries, the largest stakeholder in ING Vysya Life Insurance with 50 per cent, informed the stock exchanges on Wednesday that it is in the process of taking full control of the insurer by buying the remaining 50 per cent from the other stakeholders for about Rs550 crore.
After an emergency board meeting in Mumbai, the Rajan Raheja-led Exide said it would buy a 26-per cent stake from Dutch partner ING Insurance International, which is exiting the insurance business in India. It will also acquire 16.32 per cent from Hemendra Kothari group and 7.68 per cent from Enam group.
The deal values ING Vysya at Rs1,100 crore.
It now plans to sell a stake of around 26 per cent to a fresh foreign partner in the life insurance venture in order to comply with regulatory norms.
''Post such acquisition, Exide has in principle decided to identify and induct a new international player in the life insurance genre to infuse fresh equity into ING Vysya Life (subject to regulatory approvals) for company's expansion plans,'' said a Bombay Stock Exchange release.
Exide had bought the stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance Co from GMR Industries in 2005 as an ''investment'' option.