The life insurer’s board approved seeking approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to reclassify Prudential Corp. Holdings Ltd. It also approved seeking the regulator’s nod to rename the company to ICICI Life Insurance Ltd.
The approval comes a day after joint promoter Prudential sent a letter to the insurer to initiate the process for reclassification as an investor of the company. “The Board has considered and approved Prudential’s request for reclassification from ‘Promoter’ to ‘Investor’,” the life insurer notified the exchanges on Monday. It also notified the resignation of non-executive director Naveen Tahilyani from its board, effective 6 July.
New arrangement
On Saturday, ICICI Bank and Prudential Corp. signed a letter of undertaking that sets out the rights and obligations of both parties during the period between the submission of the reclassification application to the Irdai and the completion of the transaction. These include arrangements governing voting on special resolutions and the withdrawal of Prudential’s nominee director from the company’s board.
As of 30 June, Prudential held 21.89% stake in the insurer, whereas ICICI Bank held 50.84%. Regulations require the foreign promoter to reduce its stake in the company to below 10% and cease to be a promoter before it can proceed with its venture with the Bharti group and become the promoter of another life insurance company in the country.
The foreign investor also has a mutual fund joint venture with ICICI Bank-ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co., in which it holds a 35% stake.
ICICI Pru Life recorded annualized premium equivalent (APE) of ₹10,641 crore for FY26, up 2.2% year-on-year. Retail APE stood at ₹8,692 crore, up only 0.1% on-year. The new business premium was 9.9% higher at ₹24,810 crore.
For the two-month period ended 30 May 2026, the insurer recorded 14.5% on-year growth in APE to ₹1,340 crore, of which retail APE was ₹1,018 crore, up 8.4%. New business premium was up 18.8% at ₹2,899 crore for the period, according to the latest analyst presentation.
Shares of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance closed 0.1% lower at ₹484.80 on National Stock Exchange, while ICICI Bank shares ended 1.1% higher at ₹1,426.05 on Monday. The company disclosed the board’s approval after market hours.
New venture
On 17 May, Prudential Corp. announced that it had signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance Co. Ltd from Bharti Life Ventures Pvt. Ltd. and funds managed by 360 ONE Asset Management. The deal involves an initial cash consideration of ₹3,500 crore, with up to ₹700 crore in additional contingent consideration. It also includes long-term strategic distribution agreements with Bharti Airtel and 360 ONE WAM Ltd.
Prudential had then said that India is a “strategically” important, exciting and attractive market, and that the deal with the Bharti group is aimed at securing majority ownership of a life insurance business in the country.
“The business is expected to leverage the combined brand strength of both Prudential and Bharti, reinforced by Prudential’s operational capabilities. Prudential expects to work closely with the other businesses of the Bharti Enterprises and related entities.”
It had then also said the proceeds from the divestment of its stake in ICICI Prudential Life would be used to support future growth in its other businesses, and that the residual capital would contribute to Prudential’s free surplus.
Prudential provides life and health insurance and asset management services across Greater China, Asean, India and Africa. It is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.
Other than the proposed majority control in Bharti Life Insurance, Prudential’s Indian insurance operations consist of majority ownership in Prudential HCL Health Insurance Ltd, a 70:30 joint venture with HCL Group’s Vama Sundari Investments.
On 29 June, Irdai granted Prudential HCL Health a certificate of registration, allowing it to begin operations as the country’s eighth standalone health insurance company. On 13 April, the insurer appointed Amit Dave as chief executive and managing director and Abhishek Saraf as chief operating officer.
