ICICI Bank to sell stake in general insurance arm via IPO

NEW DELHI: ICICI Bank on Monday informed stock exchanges that it will sell a part of its shareholding in ICICI Lombard through an initial public offering ( IPO), the details of which will be disclosed shortly.

In a filing to BSE, the bank said that its board of directors have approved a part in its general insurance company and that the size and other details of the offer would be determined in due course.

The news has come after ICICI Lombard General Insurance on Saturday said that its foreign partner, Canada-based Fairfax, has offloaded part stake of 12.18 per cent to a numbers of investors, including Warburg Pincus, for Rs 2,473 crore.

The secondary market value of general insurer ICICI Lombard is 30 per cent higher than the Warburg Pincus deal which valued the insurer at Rs 20,000 crore, ET reported last week.

The general insurer, planning to be the first to be listed, is fetching a premium because those with Esops are selling shares at Rs 550-570 apiece valuing the insurer at Rs 26,000 crore in the secondary market, said sources in know of the situation, the report added.