Srini Raju Eyes 9% In Metlife India Insurance

C Srini Raju, the ex-chief operating officer of Satyam Computer Services and currently a promoter director of iLabs, has applied for a 9 per cent stake in the Bangalore-based insurance start-up MetLife India Insurance Company Ltd.

Chintalapati Holdings Pvt Ltd, a closely-held company belonging to Srini Raju, has applied for the stake worth over Rs 9 crore.

"It's purely a portfolio diversification decision since the rest of my investments are in infotech," said Srini Raju, who still holds a substantial stake in Satyam Computer Services.

MetLife India is a joint venture between MetLife Insurance, the largest life insurance firm in the US, and a group of Indian partners.

The joint venture is still awaiting the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority approval.

"We hope to get the final clearance in a few days to launch our Indian operations," said Venkatesh Mysore, managing director, MetLife India.

"Since insurance is an advice-driven business, we hope to succeed by offering the clients expert advice on financial planning and educating them," said Venkatesh.

While the US company will have a 26 per cent holding in the Rs 110 crore initial capital of the joint venture, the Jammu & Kashmir Bank will have a 25 per cent stake, the M Pallonji group 31 per cent, Indian Syntans of Chennai 5 per cent, Elpro International of Pune and BDDPL of Kolkata hold two per cent each.