UK’s Bupa to acquire 20% stake in health insurer Niva Bupa from JV partner True North

Homegrown personal fairness agency True North on Friday mentioned that it has agreed to promote 20% of its stake in Niva Bupa, a medical insurance firm, to its three way partnership accomplice Bupa, a UK-based healthcare companies and insurance coverage supplier.

ET first reported on 23 June that Bupa was trying to choose up as a lot as 15-20% stake from True North.

True North is promoting the 20% stake at a valuation of Rs2,700 crore, the PE agency mentioned in an announcement. The transaction is topic to insurance coverage regulator IRDAI’s approval.

This transaction will imply Bupa turns into Niva Bupa’s majority shareholder, with its shareholding set to extend to roughly 63%. Overseas entities are permitted to come clean with 74% in Indian insurance coverage firms.

Bupa, a global healthcare firm headquartered within the UK, was a founding shareholder when the enterprise was first established in India in 2008. True North turned Niva Bupa’s majority shareholder in 2019 after buying the stake held by Analjit Singh’s Max India.

In FY23, Niva Bupa turned the third-largest retail well being insurer, reaching greater than Rs4,000 crore of gross written premium (GWP), the assertion mentioned“True North believes that the time is true for Bupa to take a majority shareholding within the enterprise to propel Niva Bupa to its subsequent stage of development,” the assertion mentioned.Future development choices of the corporate may embrace a public itemizing of the enterprise, it added.

“The corporate’s premium crossed 4000 crore final 12 months, a big enhance from 1000 crore on the time of our preliminary transaction in 2019. Niva Bupa’s market share has additionally greater than doubled on this tenure, an additional testomony to the agency’s distinctive administration and its vivid future,” mentioned Divya Sehgal, Associate, True North.

Kotak Funding Banking acted because the unique monetary advisor to True North and Niva Bupa, whereas Rothschild & Co suggested Bupa on the transaction.