The board of directors of ICICI Bank approved an increase in shareholding in ICICI Lombard, in multiple tranches up to 4 per cent additional shareholding as permissible under applicable law, to ensure compliance with the Section 19(2) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and make ICICI Lombard, a subsidiary of ICICI Bank, subject to receipt of necessary regulatory approvals, the company said in an exchange filing.
On March 10, 2023, ICICI Lombard had informed about an extension in timeline granted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for divesting ICICI Bank’s shareholding in ICICI Lombard to less than 30 per cent of the company’s paid up capital till September 9, 2024. As on March 31, 2023, ICICI Bank held 48.02 per cent in the Company.
“Going ahead, growth in the motor segment is likely to be back ended with the company waiting for the rationalization of pricing in the OD segment. On the health segment, the benefits of price hike and improving efficiency of the agency channel should translate into improved profitability. Synergy benefits from Bharti AXA merger (technology related), scale benefits, and improvement in mix on health business (higher share of retail health) should aid in improving the combined ratio and RoE over the next couple of years,” Motilal Oswal Financial Services said in company update. The brokerage firm retained its BUY rating and target price of Rs 1,400 (29x FY25E).
First Published: May 29 2023 | 9:58 AM IST