 "Bandhan Group, IIFL in race to acquire Aegon Life Insurance: Officials")
Bandhan Group and Mumbai-based financial services major IIFL are in the race to acquire Aegon Life Insurance from the Netherlands-based Aegon NV and Bennett, Coleman &. Co, the publisher of Times of India.
The life insurance company, which has remained a laggard in the Indian insurance sector, is expected to fetch Rs 350 - Rs 400 crore through the sale, a source close to the development said.
Aegon group currently holds 49 per cent stake in the company while BCCL owns around 47 per cent. The rest is held by the employees.
When contacted, a spokesperson of Aegon group said they don't comment on market speculation but added that it had earlier said that its Indian joint venture (JV) is not part of its "core perimeter, and they have a bias to exit." BCCL, Bandhan Group and IIFL did not reply to queries.
A banking source said the acquisition of the company would give an entry to both Bandhan Group, promoter of Bandhan Bank, and IIFL to the insurance sector. "Both companies can buy the JV at a very low valuation due to the low market share of the company. The company changed its model to sell its products via digital mode only," he said.
The source also said that apart from Aegon, the insurance ventures of Reliance Capital are also up for sale. Reliance Capital is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, with the Hinduja and Torrent groups making bids for the company. The insurance ventures owned by Future group is also up for sale by the lenders.
The valuation of life insurance companies also took a knock after the Budget this year imposed taxation on life insurance policies with premiums of Rs 5 lakh and above. But the overall life insurance industry reported a strong 37.6 per cent growth for March this year with private players growing at 55.7 percent, and industry leader, Life Insurance Corporation of India at 10.2 per cent.
