Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) logo. Representational image
| Photo Credit: Reuters
State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is in advanced talks with a “standalone health insurance company to acquire a substantial stake” as part of its proposed foray into health insurance.
“The Corporation is still in advanced talks and no binding agreement has been entered into… execution and ultimate consummation of the deal is subject to various factors, including approval of the Board, regulatory approvals and other approvals before executing any binding agreements,” LIC said on Tuesday.
There can be no guarantee or assurance of the execution/consummation of the potential deal, it said in an intimation to the stock exchanges hours after MD and CEO Siddhartha Mohanty said the decision to buy stake in a health insurer is likely by this fiscal.
“Discussion is on… at a final stage. It is a natural choice for LIC to be in health insurance,” he told media on the sidelines of the 25th Global Conference of Actuaries at Mumbai on March 18.
“Very shortly, I think all things will be finalised within this financial year. I am very much hopeful that within this financial, before 31 March, some decision can be taken,” he said, without disclosing the name of the health insurer. He, however, said LIC will not be holding a majority stake.
His statement assumes significance as during the Q3 earnings call last month he had said acquisition of a stake in a health insurer would not be feasible in the current fiscal.
In its intimation, LIC said the proposed acquisition is to broaden its footprint in the health insurance market. The Corporation will make appropriate disclosure in compliance with applicable laws, as and when required.
With the stock exchange filing we now know talks have boiled down to one, standalone health insurer for a substantial but not a majority stake
Published – March 18, 2025 03:12 pm IST