Generali becomes majority shareholder in Indian non-life joint venture

Future Enterprises

06/05/2022 17:45

MILAN, May 6 (Reuters) - Italy's top insurer Generali
 GASI.MI  said on Friday it had completed the acquisition of a
25% stake in its Indian non-life insurance joint venture,
increasing its holding to 74% after receiving regulatory and
competition approvals.
    When it announced the deal in January, Generali said it had
agreed to pay 145 million euros ($153 million) to debt-laden
Future Group, its partner in Future Generali India Insurance
(FGII), for the stake. 
    The deal, which is in line with Generali's strategy to
position itself in fast-growing markets, follows a 2021 decision
by the Indian government to allow foreign companies to own up to
74% of a local insurance business, up from 49% previously.
    In March, Generali also completed a deal to become the
majority shareholder in its Indian life insurance joint venture.
  
    Generali is the first international insurer to take a
majority stake in both its Indian life and non-life insurance
joint ventures since the new foreign ownership cap came into
effect, it said in a statement.
    ($1 = 0.9462 euros)

 (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro  Editing by Maria Pia Quaglia
and Mark Potter)
 ((gianluca.semeraro@tr.com; +39 06 80 307 741;
))