The Indian government is planning to complete the merger of three state-owned general insurance companies by the end of March.
The boards of the three insurers – National Insurance, United India Insurance, and Oriental Insurance – have already given their in-principle approvals to proceed with the transaction, according to a report by Telegraph India.
“Merger of [public sector] general insurers is at an advanced stage. We can see that happening quite soon. It is already before the cabinet,” said Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar.
Kumar added that while the transaction is already being hammered out, the government still reserves the option to list the resulting entity once the merger is complete.
The move to merge the three insurers has proved controversial, with a report saying it could cost up to 15,000 jobs.
For the merger to push through, Delhi has announced a capital infusion of INR69.5 billion (US$975.5 million) into the three general insurance companies in the next financial year. According to documents from the budget department, the funds will come from the National Investment Fund.
