Nippon Life to acquire 26-per cent in Reliance Capital for Rs1,450 crore

Nippon Life Insurance Company today signed final agreements with Reliance Capital to acquire a 26-per cent stake in Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM), India's largest asset management company.

Under the agreements, Nippon Life will invest an equivalent of Rs1,450 crore ($290 million) to acquire 26-per cent stake in RCAM.

The transaction, which is subject to necessary regulatory approvals, pegs the total valuation of RCAM at approximately Rs5,600 crore ($1.1 billion).

Nippon Life, one of the oldest insurance companies and a Global Fortune 100 company, manages over $600 billion (Rs30,00,000 crore) in assets. It is the seventh largest life insurer in the world and Number 1 private life insurer in Asia and Japan.

''We are delighted to sign final agreements with Nippon and look forward to having them as our strategic partners in the mutual fund business. We will be filing our application with the regulators for approval and hope to conclude this transaction soon,'' Sam Ghosh, CEO, Reliance Capital, said.

"I am very pleased that we have entered into the final agreements about investment in Reliance Capital Asset Management. I believe that this partnership in the field of asset management will strengthen our relationship with Reliance Group," Yoshinobu Tsutsui, president of Nippon Life, said.