INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) Friday said it has approved the acquisition of 26 per cent stake by Hitachi Payment
Services in SBI Payment Services.
The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) and payments solution provider Hitachi Payment
Services entered into an agreement in October to form a joint venture (JV) for establishing a card acceptance and digital payment
platform.
The competition watchdog in a tweet on Friday said it "approves acquisition of 26 per cent equity share capital of SBI Payment
Services Private Limited by Hitachi Payment Services Private Limited".
SBI will have a majority stake in the proposed JV.
The JV will
provide various payment options to customers and merchants focusing on areas such as rollout of a nationwide card acceptance infrastructure,
quick response code acceptance, Unified Payment Interface, mass transit sector and e-commerce businesses.
In a separate tweet, the fair
trade regulator said it has given green signal to Ageas Insurance International's acquisition of 40 per cent equity share in Royal Sundaram
General Insurance.
Royal Sundaram is a provider of general (non-life) insurance services in India and is a subsidiary of Sundaram Finance
Group.
The CCI "approves acquisition of 40 per cent of the equity share capital of Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co
Limited by Ageas Insurance International N.V," the regulator said in a tweet.
Ageas, a global insurance service provider, currently has only
an indirect business presence in India through its investment comprising 26 per cent of the equity shareholding in IDBI Federal Life
Insurance (IFLI).
IFLI is a JV between IDBI Bank, the Federal Bank and Ageas which provides life insurance services in India.
Besides, the
regulator approved acquisition of 100 per cent of the shares of GrazianoFairfield by the Dana International Luxembourg.
Dana International
is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Dana Inc
It is a global supplier of driveline, sealing and thermal-management products to manufacturers of light and commercial
vehicles.
GrazianoFairfield is a wholly-owned subsidiary of OC Oerlikon Corporation and it is engaged in drive systems business.
The 'drive
systems segment' includes the supply of planetary gearboxes, transmissions, gears, synchronizers, and other components and sub-assemblies to
be used in various vehicle and industrial applications.
Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval from the CCI.
