₹1,495.81 crore>HDFC completes majority acquisition in Apollo Munich Health Insurance for ₹1,495.81 crore

NEW DELHI : Mortgage lender HDFC on Thursday said it has completed the acquisition of majority stake in Apollo Munich Health Insurance for ₹1,495.81 crore.

HDFC bought 50.80 per cent stake of Apollo Hospitals Group in Apollo Munich for ₹1,485.14 crore and 0.36 per cent shareholding of employees for ₹10.67 crore. On January 2, HDFC had informed that the company and its subsidiary HDFC ERGO has got approvals for acquiring a majority shareholding in Apollo Munich.

"Subsequent to this approval (regulatory), Apollo Munich Health Insurance Co Ltd has been renamed as HDFC ERGO Health Insurance Ltd (HDFC ERGO Health) and will operate as a subsidiary of HDFC Ltd," HDFC said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. The acquisition comes after approvals from the Competition Commission of India, the RBI and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India.

Anuj Tyagi, Executive Director & Chief Business Officer at HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company (HDFC ERGO General) has been appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of HDFC ERGO Health, subject to approval from Irdai. HDFC ERGO Health and HDFC ERGO General will shortly apply to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for their merger, HDFC said.

Post merger, the resultant entity will be the second largest private insurer in accident and health segment in the country, it said. "We are committed to create value for all our stakeholders with the combined strength of the brand HDFC and expertise of Apollo Munich in health insurance," said HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh. Shobana Kamineni, Chairperson of Apollo Munich and Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise exuded confidence that the company will become stronger under HDFC.

Apollo Munich Managing Director Antony Jacob will move to Apollo Hospitals Group. "The acquisition provides HDFC ERGO with the opportunity to grow by increasing its footprint and distribution network, in line with its strategic objective to be amongst the top private insurers in the industry.

"Policy holders and channel partners will benefit from enhanced product suites, touch points and technology innovations," said Markus Rieb, Chairman, ERGO Group AG and board member of Munich Re. HDFC stock settled at ₹1,270.80 on the BSE, up 1.09 per cent from the previous close.

Source: Live Mint