Prudential sells stake in Indian venture ahead of IPO

(Sharecast News) - British insurer Prudential has sold a stake in its Indian joint venture for around £400m, the British insurer said on Thursday. The blue chip has agreed to sell a 4.5% stake in the ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (IPAMC) for 49bn rupees (£410m) to a group of investors, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Indian insurer SBI Life.

According to Reuters, joint venture partner ICICI Bank - Indian's second-largest private lender - also bought shares worth 21.4bn rupees.

The sale comes ahead of a planned initial public offering of the joint venture.

Prudential, which is heavily focused on Asia, first signalled plans to sell a portion of its 45% stake in the joint venture in July.

It is expected to sell up to 9.91% of its equity in IPAMC in the IPO.

Shares in Prudential shot up on Monday, after IPAMC filed an early stage 'red herring' prospectus in Delhi concerning the IPO.

Analysts welcomed the move, noting that proceeds would likely contribute to future share buybacks.

The likely $1.2bn IPO is expected to open on Friday.

As at 1330 GMT on Thursday, the London-listed insurer was largely unchanged at 1,081p.