Aviva considering sale of India life insurance stake - sources

HONG KONG/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Aviva PLC is planning to pull out of its Indian insurance joint venture, valued at more than $500 million, as the British insurer retreats from less-profitable markets where it has struggled to grow its business, sources said.

Aviva is in the process of hiring corporate advisors to find buyers for its 26 percent stake in Aviva Life, its venture with Dabur Group, which owns personal care and food products manufacturer Dabur India Ltd .

Aviva is considering various options, including the sale of its stake to Dabur Group if it fails to find a foreign insurer to buy it, one of the sources said.

 

The sources declined to be identified due to the confidential nature of the matter.

Aviva declined to comment. Mohit Burman, a director of Aviva Life who represents Dabur Group, was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Denny Thomas in Hong Kong and Sumeet Chatterjee in Mumbai; Additional reporting by Clare Baldwin in Hong Kong and Christopher Vellacott in London; Editing by Miral Fahmy)