MetLife, a leading global provider of insurance, will be buying its share from Jammu and Kashmir Bank and private equity investor Srini Raju as part of rearrangement exercise of the shareholding pattern of its Indian joint venture.
MetLife Inc is expected to pay around Rs 190 crore in return of 50 million shares to Jammu and Kashmir Bank for buying back a part of its stake in MetLife India Insurance Co. After this buy back exercise the MetLife will maintain a 26 per cent stake in the Indian insurance venture.
Post this, Jammu and Kashmir Bank will transfer another 66 million shares to Punjab National Bank (PNB) and will retain around 5 percent stake in MetLife.
In the first week of September 2012, Irda approved the proposal of PNB to acquire 30 per cent stake in MetLife Insurance. The transaction was pending the IRDA’s approval for more than a year as the regulator had questioned the valuation procedure and was of the opinion that it was not consistent with Indian Accounting Standards
MetLife will offer PNB a 30 per cent stake in the form of sweat equity. As a Bancassurance channel, the PNB branch network will be used for selling MetLife India Insurance’s products.
