CCI okays Fairfax's additional 9% stake buy in ICICI Lombard

New Delhi: The Competition Commission has cleared Prem Watsa run Fairfax Financial Holdings' proposed acquisition of additional nine percent stake in ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company for an estimated Rs 1,550 crore.Following the transaction, Fairfax will hold 35 percent in ICICI Lombard, while ICICI Bank will have about 64 percent stake. 

In a tweet on Tuesday, Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it has approved "acquisition of additional 9 percent shares in ICICI Lombard General Insurance by FAL Corporation." 

Fairfax Financial Holdings of Canada, in October, announced that it has agreed with its joint venture partner ICICI Bank to acquire an additional nine per stake in ICICI Lombard. 

The proposed transaction values the company at Rs 17,225 crore (USD 2.6 billion), Fairfax had said. Earlier, foreign partners were only allowed to hold 26 percent stake in an insurance venture which has now been increased to 49 percent after the passage of the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act earlier this year. 

Fairfax is a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and investment management. ICICI Lombard is the largest private sector general insurance company in India with gross written premiums of about USD 1 billion for the year ended March 31, 2015.