According to media reports, the HCL group is in discussions with DLF, a major player in the real estate sector, to buy substantial stakes in DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Although both companies have not confirmed the reports, media reports state that both companies are in the advanced stages of negotiations.
DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company Limited is a joint venture between DLF Limited which is India’s largest real estate organization, and Prudential International Insurance Holdings Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Inc. a U.S.-based financial services leader. DLF holds 74% stakes while the remaining 26% of shares are held by the foreign partner.
HCL, founded in 1976 and led by Shiv Nadar, is a leading global Technology and IT Enterprise with annual revenues of USD 5.9 billion.
According to a source, the deal between the two companies will be done through a privately held company. HCL will first acquire 44% stakes of DLF in DLF Pramerica and at a later stage buy the remaining stakes.
DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company started operations only on September 1, 2008, and currently has a network of 35 branch offices and 69 branch units across Delhi NCR, Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat (as of February 28, 2011). Their product basket includes 9 life insurance products viz term insurance plans, savings plans, child insurance plans, etc.
There are some regulatory hurdles that the company may face in selling its stake. As per insurance norms, the original partner in the life insurance venture cannot sell its stakes in the first ten years of business.