Videocon to sign a joint venture with Liberty

By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 04 November 2010, 15:13 IST
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Bangalore: Liberty Mutual Group, one of America's well-known insurers, has entered into a partnership with the electronics-to-energy Videocon group. The general insurance company would invest $67 million in the initial phase and will apply for a licence to price its insurance products before the end of the year, said David H Long, president of Liberty Mutual. David H Long, President, Liberty Mutual Group and Venugopal Dhoot, Chairman and Managing Director, Videocon Industries are expected to sign a letter of intent to this effect soon. Under the proposed agreement, Liberty Mutual, through a subsidiary, will initially hold 26 percent stake in the new company and Videocon will hold 74 percent. Liberty will also have the option to raise its stake in the JV in line with the regulatory guidelines on foreign direct investment. The venture will focus on insurance for households - cars, homes, health, personal accident - besides small and medium-sized commercial enterprises. The JV will offer personal and commercial insurance products through several distribution channels. The $30-billion group has been looking to re-enter the Indian market and is said to have held discussions with several Indian companies, including Religare and Larsen & Toubro. Earlier, it had tied up with the consumer goods company Dabur as well.