Generali becomes majority shareholder in Indian non-life joint venture

MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s top insurer Generali 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)