Bajaj Finserv shares slip over 4 pc in 6 months amid insurance deal

Mumbai: Shares of Bajaj Finserv continued to decline on Friday by falling 0.53 per cent during intra-day trade to Rs 1,842 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The stock has dropped over one per cent in the last five days, nearly 2 per cent in the past month, and over 4 per cent in the last six months.

The stock’s declining movement comes after the company recently announced its decision to acquire Allianz SE’s 26 per cent stake in Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance for Rs 24,180 crore ($2.83 billion).

With this transaction, Bajaj’s ownership in both insurance firms will increase from 74 per cent to 100 per cent, marking the end of a 25-year partnership with the German insurer.

Bajaj Finserv will spend Rs 13,780 crore to acquire the general insurance business and Rs 10,400 crore for the life insurance arm.

The deal is still subject to regulatory approvals from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman and managing director of Bajaj Finserv, highlighted that the long-standing collaboration with Allianz helped maintain strong solvency margins and cross Rs 40,000 crore in premium collections.

He believes that full ownership of the insurance businesses will unlock new growth opportunities.

Allianz, on the other hand, reiterated its commitment to India and plans to reinvest the proceeds from the deal into new opportunities aligned with the country’s “Insurance for All by 2047” vision.

In terms of financial performance, Bajaj Finserv reported a 3 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for Q3 FY25 at Rs 2,231 crore, compared to Rs 2,158 crore in the same period last year.

The company’s revenue from operations grew 10 per cent to Rs 32,042 crore in Q3 from Rs 29,038 crore in the same period last fiscal.

Meanwhile, Bajaj Finance Limited, a subsidiary of Bajaj Finserv Limited, reported an increase in gross non-performing assets (GNPA) in Q3 to 1.12 per cent from 0.95 per cent a year ago, while net non-performing assets (NNPA) rose to 0.48 per cent from 0.37 per cent.

Loan loss provisions also surged significantly, reaching Rs 2,043 crore compared to Rs 1,248 crore in the same period last year.

IANS