Max Financial Services–HDFC Life merger off the radar

Max Financial Services (MFS), Max India and Max Life on Monday confirmed that the proposed merger with HDFC Life has been called off. The exclusivity agreement with HDFC Life, valid till July 31, 2017, will not be renewed.
 
The prospective partners had evaluated several alternate structures over the last month. However, the inordinate time associated with finalisation and approval of these structures led to this decision. Max Financial Services was created in 2016 as a result of a demerger of the erstwhile Max India to provide investors specific and undiluted access to the group’s life insurance business, provide sharper focus to Max Life and unlock shareholder value.
 
This demerger resulted in significant value creation based on the strong intrinsic value and superior performance of Max Life. The quality of the Max Life business, its superior performance in the market, and the unique position of MFS as a listed entity with sole focus on the life insurance business made Max Life and MFS attractive potential merger partners for HDFC Life. Max was therefore approached with this merger proposition.