Countrys biggest lender State Bank of India on Wednesday announced that its board had approved divestment of nearly 4 per cent stake in SBI General Insurance company for a total consideration of Rs 481.72 crore.The lender will sell SBI General Insurance stake to Axis AMC and PI Opportunities fund.In a regulatory filing the company said, We advise that Executive Committee of Central Board (ECCB) in its meeting held today has inter alia accorded approval for divestment of 86,20,000 equity shares constituting 4% stake in SBI General lnsurance Company at a total consideration of Rs 481.73 crore to M/s Axis New Opportunities AIF-l (Axis AMC Ltd.) and Pl Opportunities Fund-I (Premji) subject to all regulatory approvals.Pushan Mahapatra, MD and CEO of SBI General Insurance told ETNow that this was a price discovery exercise by SBI to find valuation for company.
Based on 4 per cent stake sale by SBI, company likely to valued at Rs 12,000 crore, he added.Insurance segment is still young and nascent in India, it is a highly under penetrated market, we foresee a significant scope of growth for SBI GI to achieve size, scale and profitability.
We shall continue to extend our support and are excited about SBI GIs bright journey ahead, said Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, SBI.