Nippon Life gets regulatory nod to increase stake in RCAM to 49% from 26%
Moneylife Digital Team 18 February 2015

Nippon will be investing about Rs657 crore to acquire an additional stake of 9% in RCAM in the first tranche, to reach a 35%. The transaction pegs Anil Ambani-led RCAM’s valuation at Rs7,300 crore

 

Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM) on Wednesday said that it has completed the regulatory clearance process for the sale of additional stake to Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance. RCAM said it received necessary approvals from Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
 
The deal is now expected to close by next week.
 
Nippon Life Insurance, which manages $500 billion in assets and is among the largest in the world, had agreed in November 2014 to increase its stake in RCAM from the existing 26% to 49% in multiple tranches, subject to regulatory approvals.
 
RCAM runs Reliance Mutual Fund, the country’s leading fund house, and is a part of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group’s financial services arm Reliance Capital.
 
In a statement, Reliance Capital CEO Sam Ghosh said that the approval from CCI and EPFO for this transaction would help RCAM expand its reach and offer superior returns and innovative products to its customers and investors.
 
“We look forward to completing this transaction by next week,” he added.
 
The boards of both the companies — Nippon Life Insurance and RCAM — have already approved the additional stake sale to the Japanese partner.
 
Nippon will be investing about Rs657 crore ($108 million) to acquire an additional stake of 9% in RCAM in the first tranche, to reach a 35%. The transaction pegs RCAM’s full valuation at Rs7,300 crore ($1.2 billion).
 
Subsequently, Nippon will have an option to increase its stake further by an additional 14%, to reach 49%, in tranches.
 
RCAM is the largest asset manager in India managing Rs2.3 crore ($36.9 billion) as on 31 December 2014, across mutual funds, pension funds, managed accounts and offshore funds.
 
Nippon Life is already a strategic partner in RCAM and had acquired a 26% stake for Rs1,450 crore ($240 million) in 2012. The transaction pegged the total valuation of RCAM at around Rs5,600 crore ($920 million) at that time.
 
The 125-year-old Nippon Life is the world’s seventh largest life insurer and the biggest private life insurer in Asia and Japan. 
 
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