Private equity company Warburg Pincus is in negotiations to divest its 10% interest in SBI General Insurance, potentially valuing the company at $4.5bn.
SBI General Insurance is a subsidiary of India’s largest lender, the State Bank of India (SBI). Founded in 2009, the general insurance company began operations in 2010 and is headquartered in Mumbai.
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It employs more than 8,000 people and its multi-distribution model covers bancassurance, agency, broking, retail direct channels and digital collaborations.
Warburg Pincus is in discussions with Premji Invest, the investment arm of Indian billionaire Azim Premji, and SBI itself.
The sale talks come as part of Warburg Pincus’s investment strategy, which often involves acquiring significant stakes in companies and later divesting them.
If successful, the deal would mark a notable change in the ownership structure of SBI General Insurance.
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By GlobalDataIn 2019, Premji Invest and a Warburg Pincus affiliate acquired stakes of 16.01% and approximately 10%, respectively, in a deal valued at $432.38m.
SBI holds a majority stake of 70% in SBI General Insurance. The sale of Warburg Pincus’s stake could potentially attract other investors or financial institutions interested in a share of India’s growing insurance market.
Bloomberg News was the first to report on the ongoing negotiations, although Reuters has not been able to independently verify the information. Requests for comments from Premji Invest and SBI went unanswered, and Warburg Pincus declined to comment on the matter.
In October 2024, Warburg Pincus and Singaporean investment company Temasek closed the deal to acquire a majority stake in UK-based insurance intermediary Specialist Risk Group.
