ICICI Prudential begins evaluation to buy Sahara Life Insurance

On July 4, 2017, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance company (a joint venture between ICICI Bank Limited and Prudential Corporation Holdings Limited) reveals its interest in takeover of the Sahara India Life Insurance Co. Ltd for which they have also begun the valuation of liabilities of Sahara Life Insurance.

ICICI Prudential Life reported that they have estimated that there is about Rs 9 billion liabilities of Sahara Life policy holders, which is less than 1% of the its balance sheet, as per the press release.

Last month, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), an insurance regulator has appointed an administrator for managing the Sahara Life Insurance affairs with an immediate effect.

Sahara Group has been facing various financial challenges since 2014 when Subrata Roy (founder and chairman of Sahara India) was arrested in a case of non-refund of almost Rs 20,000 crore to investors. In 2015, Sahara mutual fund's licence was also cancelled by SEBI.

On July 5,2017, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance was trading at Rs 496.45, up by 1.45 per cent on BSE at 1157 hours. It opened at Rs 490.55 while on Tuesday it closed at Rs 489.35. It touched its intraday high and low at Rs 501 and Rs 490.55 respectively.