QBE sells general insurance joint venture in India

QBE Insurance Group is selling its stake in Indian joint venture Raheja QBE General Insurance Company to financial services company Paytm.

Paytm will acquire the 49 percent stake owned by QBE Australia and the remaining 51 percent from Prism Johnson.

Raheja QBE is a general insurance company with a pan-India presence. The company offers personal lines and commercial lines insurance including private car, two-wheeler, health insurance, property and liability insurance.

Vivek Bhatia, QBE Australia Pacific CEO, said: “Today’s announcement marks both a continuation of QBE’s strategy to simplify our business and the beginning of a new & exciting chapter for our strong team at Raheja QBE.”

Vijay Aggarwal, managing director Prism Johnson, added: “We are happy to announce the sale transaction of our entire 51 percent stake in Raheja QBE General Insurance Company Limited. Our decision to sell our stake in Raheja QBE is in line with our mission to create sustainable shareholder value and will enable us to focus our resources on our core businesses. This move will help the insurance business scale up to new heights by leveraging the large customer base and innovative products offered by Paytm. I would like to thank Raheja QBE’s management team and all the employees for their strong contribution and commitment over the years and wish them every success.”

Amit Nayyar, president of Paytm, commented: “It is an important milestone in Paytm’s financial services journey, and we are very excited to welcome Raheja QBE General Insurance into the Paytm family. Its strong management team will help us accelerate our journey of taking insurance to the large population of India with the aim to create a tech-driven, multi-channel general insurance company with innovative and affordable insurance products.”