XL group to buy stake in Mahindra Insurance

MUMBAI: Mahindra Insurance Brokers, a part of the Mahindra Group, said the XL Group will acquire a 20% stake in the company for Rs 260 crore, valuing it at
Rs 1,300 crore.

US-based LeapFrog Financial Inclusion Fund, which currently holds a 15% equity stake in the company, will purchase an additional 5% stake in it from parent Mahindra Finance and sell the entire 20% to the XL Group, it said.

Leapfrog had bought the 15% stake Rs 80 crore in 2012 for Mahindra Insurance is a composite broker that started operations in 2004. It had been profitable over the past 13 years. The company has serviced more than 8 million insurance cases protecting their assets and loans taken for buying tractors and vehicles.

The XL Group will help it in increasing insurance awareness and market penetration.

“The investment by XL Group, a leading global insurance and reinsurance group with expertise in emer ging markets, will help increase insurance penetration and drive positive change in the lives of rural India,“ said Ramesh Iyer, vice chairman of Mahindra Finance.

The XL Group, through its subsidiaries and under the XL Catlin brand, is a global insurance and reinsurance company providing property, casualty and speciality products to industrial, commercial and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises throughout the world.

“This will also provide us a chance to better understand the primary retail insurance and distribution landscapes in the rapidly developing Indian market,“ said Greg Hendricks, president, P&C insurance and reinsurance, XL Caitlin.