Axis Bank bought 4.99% stake in Max Life Insurance Ltd, a joint venture between Mitsui Sumitomo, Axis and Max Financial Services, for Rs 95.75 crore. India’s third largest private bank bought 3.99% stake for Rs 75.56 crore from Max Financial Services and another 1% from Mitsui Sumitomo for Rs 19.19 crore.
Axis Bank now holds around 5.99% stake in Max Life Insurance, prior to the deal it held 1%. Max Financial Services now owns 68.01% in Max Life while Mitsui Sumitomo owns 25%. The current deal values Max Life at Rs 1919 crore but the actual value could be higher because the current deal is based on a pre-set agreement between the stakeholders.
Axis Bank and Yes Bank do not have their own life insurance companies.
Max India in January announced its demerger into three listed entities Max Financial Services Limited (MFS) – the Group’s flagship life insurance business, which has a majority stake in Max Life, Max India Ltd. and Max Ventures & Industries Ltd. Promoter stake in Max Financial Services stands little above 30 percent, while private equity firm KKR owns 9.95% and Goldman Sachs owns another 15.5%.
