Fairfax Financial to sell 12.2 percent of ICICI Lombard

MUMBAI Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings plans to sell a 12.2 percent stake in its Indian joint venture insurer ICICI Lombard in a deal that will value the company at 203 billion rupees ($ 3.15 billion), the Indian company said on Saturday.Red Bloom Investment Ltd, a company wholly owned by private equity investment funds managed by Warburg Pincus, is buying a 9 percent stake, while two other investors, Tamarind Capital Pte Ltd and IIFL ‎Special Opportunities Fund, are buying 1.59 percent each from Fairfax, ICICI Lombard said in a statement.

After the sale India’s ICICI Bank Ltd will own about 63.3 percent of the insurer, while Fairfax’s stake will come down to about 22.1 percent.

In January sources familiar with the matter said Fairfax was looking to sell a 25 percent stake in ICICI Lombard as it looks to set up a new general insurance joint venture in India.