Ahead of the trade, on June 1, ET NOW reported, citing sources, that homegrown private equity firm True North and Niva Bupa’s Managing Director and CEO, Krishnan Ramachandran, were set to offload a combined 132 million shares in the health insurer through a block deal.
ETNOW had also reported that Fettle Tone LLP, an investment vehicle of True North, was expected to sell up to 122 million shares, or roughly 6.7% of Niva Bupa’s equity. CEO Krishnan Ramachandran was likely to dilute 10 million shares, equating to around 0.5% of the company. The offer price was set at Rs 82 per share, pegging the total size of the transaction at around Rs 1,082 crore.
Based on the latest shareholding pattern as of March-end, the company’s promoter Bupa holds 55.98% stake, while True North holds 17.47% via Fettle Tone LLP.
Niva Bupa reported a 31.2% year-on-year rise in net profit for the March quarter, posting Rs 206 crore compared to Rs 157 crore in the same period last year. Gross premiums increased 18% to Rs 2,078.7 crore, while net premiums climbed 21% to Rs 1,672 crore.
However, the insurer’s underwriting profit slipped 12.2% year-on-year to Rs 57.6 crore from Rs 65.6 crore. Operating profit also fell sharply by 43.1% to Rs 94.9 crore from Rs 166.8 crore in the year-ago period. Its solvency ratio stood steady at 3.03% on a sequential basis.Niva Bupa Health Insurance listed on Indian stock exchanges in November 2024, marking the first domestic listing of a pure-play global MNC health insurer backed by British firm Bupa. In September 2023, True North ceded control to Bupa by selling a 20% stake for approximately Rs 2,700 crore.Also read | Ircon International shares jump over 2% after winning Rs 1,068 crore EPC contract from railways(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
