Bupa to acquire additional 23% stake in Max Bupa for Rs 191 crore

New Delhi: UK's Bupa will increase its stake in Indian health insurance venture Max Bupa by 23 percent to 49 percent for Rs 191 crore.

Max Bupa is a 74:26 joint venture between Max India and Bupa.

"Bupa will pay around Rs 191 cr to Max India in an all cash transaction, to increase its stake in Max Bupa from 26 per cent to 49 per cent," Max Bupa Health Insurance said in a statement.

Bupa, it said, has executed agreements to acquire an additional 23 per cent stake in Max Bupa, one of India's leading standalone health insurers.

The UK health care group was the first foreign insurer to announce its intent to increase its stake to 49 per cent in its Indian health insurance subsidiary after the government relaxed FDI participation rules for insurance companies.

"Since that announcement in January 2015, Bupa and Max India have been working to align their JV agreements with the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2015 for Indian-owned and controlled businesses," the statement said.

The new agreements will come into force after the requisite regulatory clearances have been secured from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

Launched in 2010, Max Bupa is the seventh largest private health insurer in India. It has more than two million customers across India.

Its local parent Max India is one of India's leading multi-business corporates and currently owns 74 percent of Max Bupa. Its foreign parent Bupa is a UK-headquartered global healthcare group, which holds 26% stake in the company.

After the deal, Max India's stake in the venture will come down to 51 percent.

Rahul Khosla, Managing Director, Max India Ltd said, "Bupa's stake increase is a clear affirmation of the huge growth opportunity for health insurance in India. The cash received from the transaction will support growth aspirations of the Max Group as well as for Max Bupa."

Speaking at the occasion, David Fletcher, Managing Director of International Development Markets at Bupa said: "We see enormous opportunity in India to build on the great foundations of the last few years and use our global expertise to take the business to the next level. We are committed to growing an insurance business that not only provides the best quality healthcare funding but that is at the forefront of helping Indian people to live healthier lives."

Max India also has partnerships with Japan's Mitsui Sumitomo for its Life Insurance business and South Africa- based Life Healthcare for its healthcare business