Goldman Sachs is reportedly in negotiations to purchase a stake in India-based Royal Sundaram General Insurance, two sources have said.
The Chennai-headquartered insurer offers motor, health, personal accident, home, and travel insurance for individual clients, as well as SME-focused fire, marine, engineering, liability, and business interruption cover.
“Royal Sundaram has been in the market to sell a significant minority stake to bring on a partner to help fund the growth of the business,” an anonymous source was quoted as saying by Deal Street Asia. “One of the financial investors that have shown interest in picking up a stake is Goldman Sachs. The two parties are engaged in discussions.”
However, the source said that while discussions are on-going, they might not necessarily result in a deal.
Royal Sundaram’s willingness to sell a minority stake was first reported by Mint in November 2017, while private equity firms Apax and Carlyle Group have also reportedly shown interest in buying the stake, according to Bloomberg.
In 2000, Royal Sundaram was founded as a joint venture between the UK’s Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Group (now known as RSA), and India’s Sundaram Finance. In 2015, Sundaram bought out the joint venture, making it 100% Indian-owned.
In 2016-17, the insurer reported gross written premiums of INR21.89 billion (US$335.9 million), up 29% from the previous financial year. Meanwhile, its net profit was at INR430 million (US$6.6 million), representing a 61.65% year-on-year increase.
