Piramal to sell its stakes in Shriram insurance firms

Piramal Enterprises Ltd is planning to sell its holdings in Shriram Group's insurance ventures for ₹4,000-5,000 crore, two people aware of the matter said, as it looks to sharpen focus on its core lending business.

- Anirudh Laskar

The Ajay Piramal-led group holds about 15% in Shriram General Insurance Co. Ltd and about 13.3% in Shriram Life Insurance Co. Ltd. The group has appointed Avendus Capital and Arpwood Capital as investment bankers to find buyers for its life and general insurance stakes respectively, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.

Piramal had acquired stakes in various Shriram companies more than a decade ago, after selling its pharmaceuticals business to Abbott Laboratories in 2010. In recent years, it has sold some of these stakes at a profit, and invested in other businesses like lending.

"Piramal's investments in both life and general businesses of Shriram have appreciated, and it is keen to exit since the focus of the Piramal Group is changing. The two bunches of stakes in Shriram are likely to be sold separately. There are several private equity and strategic entities which have shown interest in buying the stakes," one of the two people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.