HDFC Life seeks Irda nod for public offer

HDFC Life, a joint venture between mortgage lender HDFC and UKbased Standard Life, has applied to India’s insurance regulator for an initial share sale after its four-stage proposed merger with closely held rival Max Life failed to fructify in the past one year.

HDFC Life has said that it intends to sell 20 per cent of its shares in the offer that would constitute the third such listing by private-sector insurers in India.“HDFC Life has applied for an inprinciple approval for IPO with Irda,” said a senior official at the regulator that provides the legal framework for India’s 53 insurers.

On July 17, the board of HDFC Life had passed an enabling resolution to go ahead with an IPO before the proposed merger. HDFC Life and Max Life are in a standstill agreement until the end of the month to discuss any possible structure that is acceptable to all the parties and the regulators concerned.

“We have a standstill agreement that is there until the end of the month. As per that, we cannot file a DRHP with Sebi. We can go and apply with Irda,” Amitabh Chaudhry, MD of HDFC Life, told ET in an exclusive interview. In the last financial year, HDFC Life was the third-largest life insurance company based on the first-year individual premium collections, adjusted for 10 per cent single premiums. The company had a market share of 6.8 per cent by March 31, 2017. Its assets under management rose 24 per cent to Rs 91,742 crore by then.

HDFC Life’s profit after tax rose 9 per cent to Rs 892 crore last FY.