Ageas to acquire 40% stake in RSGI

Ageas has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire 40 percent of the share capital of the Indian non-life insurance company Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Limited (RSGI) for a total consideration of EUR186 million.

RSGI is a top 10 privately owned player in the Indian general insurance market with strong positions in Motor and Health insurance. In 2018 RSGI generated EUR321 million inflows and EUR10 million net profit and realised between 2015 and 2018, an average annual growth rate of 19 percent and 55 percent in inflows and net profit respectively.

The transaction is subject to the approval of regulatory authorities, and is expected to close in the first half of 2019. The acquisition will reduce the Group Solvency II by approximately five percent.

Commenting on the agreement, Bart De Smet, CEO of Ageas, said: “Partnering with Sundaram Finance, a well-established company with a vast knowledge of the Indian insurance market, offers us a great opportunity to benefit from the potential of what is one of the world’s largest economies with an insurance industry that is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Being already present in the Indian Life insurance market, we now will be able, through this new joint venture, to also fully grasp opportunities in the Non-Life market. We are confident that Ageas’s insurance expertise combined with Sundaram Finance’s market knowledge and position will take RSGI to a next level in terms of size and profitability.”