Allahabad Bank puts stake sale at Universal Sompo on the back-burner

At present, Allahabad Bank holds 28.52 per cent, while IOB holds 18.06 per cent stake in the company

Ahead of its impending merger with the Indian bank, Allahabad Bank has decided to put the stake sale process at Universal Sompo General Insurance on hold. 

Universal Sompo General Insurance Company is a joint venture (JV) between public sector banks, Allahabad Bank and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), along with Karnataka Bank, Dabur Investment Corporation, and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance (a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan’s Sompo Holdings). 

According to a top official of Allahabad Bank, as of now, the stake sale is on hold. Recently, the bank also undertook a fresh valuation exercise of Universal Sompo. 

Allahabad Bank was actively considering a stake sale in Universal Sompo for the last few months. 

At present, Allahabad Bank holds 28.52 per cent, while IOB holds an 18.06 per cent stake in the company. Karnataka Bank earlier sold a part of its stake to Dabur and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa. After the deal, Karnataka Bank’s stake in the JV dropped to 6 per cent, from the earlier 14.26 per cent. Sompo Japan’s stake increased to 34.61 per cent, from the earlier 28.42 per cent. Similarly, Dabur Investment Corporation’s stake also increased to 12.81 per cent, from the earlier 10.74 per cent.

Under the earlier deal, Karnataka Bank sold over 30 million shares for Rs 55 per share to Sompo and Dabur.

Universal Sompo posted a net profit of Rs 108 crore in Q4FY19. Its combined ratio, a measure of an insurance firm’s profitability, stood at 55.17 per cent at the end of Q4FY19.