Mumbai: After Life Insurance Corporation’s (LIC) IPO, another life insurer plans to foray into the public markets. IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd., an insurance company backed by state-owned Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India and private equity firm Warburg Pincus, has started talks with investment banks for its proposed IPO, three aware of the growth. people said. Condition of anonymity.
Bank of Baroda holds 65% stake in the life insurer, while Union Bank of India holds 9% and Carmel Point Investments India Pvt Ltd, a Warburg Pincus-affiliated entity holds the remaining 26%.
“IndiaFirst has been engaged in discussions with investment banks over the past few months. Banks like ICICI Securities, Axis Capital and JM Financial and a few others are in the race to take the IPO mandate,” said the first person cited above.
According to the second person cited above, IndiaFirst’s proposed IPO will largely be a secondary sale of shares, so-called offer of sale, by existing investors of the company.
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“Bank of Baroda and Union Bank will be the primary vendors in the IPO. Warburg bought its 26% stake in 2019, so they won’t mind the sale, although they may opt for a small amount of dilution. The size of the IPO could be up to Rs 2,000 crore, depending on the final dilution decided by the shareholders, but those numbers are yet to be confirmed and hence, by the time the company files its DRHP, The modalities of the deal may change significantly. regulator,” said another person.
A successful IPO would make IndiaFirst the ninth insurance company to be listed on the exchanges. Apart from LIC, state-owned insurance companies General Insurance Corp of India and New India Assurance Company Limited are also listed on the stock exchanges. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, SBI Life Insurance and Star Health & Allied Insurance Company are other listed insurance companies in India.
“IndiaFirst Life Insurance is doing well. It is the fastest growing life insurance company in the country. Bank of Baroda, our largest shareholder, has expressed its view that the Company may list based on time and opportunity. Anything else at this point of time is mere speculation,” IndiaFirst Life Insurance deputy CEO Rishabh Gandhi said in response to an emailed response to a Mint query.
According to the company statement, for the financial year ended March 31, the insurance company saw a 28% increase in its gross premiums from FY2011 and crossed Rs 5,187 crore.
It registered 55% in individual new business premium of Rs 1,428.7 crore as compared to Rs 924 crore in FY2011. The 13th Month Continuity Ratio, a measure of customer retention, stood at 82%, up from 78.7% as on 31 March 2021. The insurer saw an 112% increase in Group Credit Life New Business premium to Rs 503.6 crore (FY21:238). Ten million) •
Its assets under management grew 11% to Rs 18,932 crore in FY22.
“Our strong business performance has ensured that we continue to grow faster than the industry for the seventh year in a row. In FY 2012, we registered a 50% growth in individual NB APEs, but what is even more heartening is that We have a 7-year CAGR of 36% – something we are extremely proud of,” said Rushab Gandhi, Deputy CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited, in a press statement announcing the company’s FY22 performance.