IAG to sell entire 26% stake in SBI General Insurance

Public sector lender SBI on Thursday said its joint venture partner IAG will sell an entire 26 percent stake in its subsidiary SBI General Insurance to Napean Opportunities and WP Honey Wheat lnvestment Ltd for an undisclosed amount. "IAG has entered into definitive agreements to sell the whole of its 26 percent interest in SBI General via two transactions," State Bank of India said in a regulatory filing.

The country's largest lender and lnsurance Australia Group (IAG) currently own 70 percent and 26 percent, respectively, in SBI General Insurance. "The agreements have been reached with Napean Opportunities LLP (an affiliate of Premji lnvest) to acquire a 16.01 percent interest and WP Honey Wheat lnvestment Ltd (Warburg Pincus Group) to acquire a 9.99 percent interest," SBI said.

The transactions are subject to regulatory processes and approvals. SBI General, valued at over Rs 12,000 crore recently, is a joint venture between SBI and Insurance Australia Group.

Last month, SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar has said the bank has dropped its plan to take its general insurance arm public as there is no need for additional capital now. Shares of were trading 0.70 percent higher at Rs 257.70 apiece on the BSE.