Exide Industries Ltd, foraying into the life insurance sector by picking up stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Pvt Ltd, has earmarked a total investment of Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) for the life insurance venture in the next four years.
''We have decided an initial investment of about Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion) for acquisition of shares and will invest a total of Rs 400 crore over next four years for life insurance from our internal accruals,'' Exide chairman S B Ganguly said.
Speaking after the annual general meeting of the company, Ganguly said the storage battery major has ventured into the sector keeping in view the huge growth prospects in the insurance sector and potential synergies with its current operations.
While stating that Exide would continue to hold 50 per cent stake in IVL, Ganguly said, ''Exide believes that Indian life insurance is a growth sector and that ING Vysya Life is a strong player well placed to capitalise on this growth.''
He, however, ruled out any plan to venture into the non-life segment or any other financial product sector in the near future.
The company's board of directors had decided to invest Rs 203.2 crore (Rs 2.03 billion) to acquire a 49.13 per cent stake in ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Pvt Ltd through the acquisition of shares held by GMR Industries, subject to regulatory approvals.
