ICICI Bank Mulls Buying More Stake in Prudential JV
ICICI Bank Ltd. is said to be thinking of buying another 3% stake in its joint venture, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co., before a possible initial public offering (IPO). The people familiar with the talks, who preferred not to be named, said that the purchase of the stake would be from ICICI's joint venture partner, Prudential Plc.
The mooted transaction will enable ICICI to retain control of its 51% shareholding in the asset management business, even following the distribution of a 3% stake of employees under a current stock option scheme. If it retains more than half a stake, then ICICI would be adhering to local statutes while aggregating the asset manager's shares with its own for consolidation.
There has been no decision made so far, as the talks are still continuing. ICICI Bank did not comment, while Prudential too did not offer any additional information.
The venture is owned equally by ICICI Bank and UK insurance company Prudential. Earlier last week, Prudential said it was considering listing its asset management division, which means a partial stake sale. Proceeds from this sale would go back to shareholders of Prudential. But ICICI Bank has said that it wants to hold on to its majority equity in the joint venture, in spite of the impending IPO.
