Videocon To Sell Stakes In Insurance Unit To DP Jindal Company, Enam

Bankrupt consumer electronics maker Videocon Industries Ltd has announced to sell its entire 51.32% stake in its insurance unit to a DP Jindal Group company and financial services firm Enam Securities Pvt. Ltd.

Without disclosing the deal amount, Videocon revealed that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has approved the stake sale in Liberty Videocon General Insurance Co. Ltd.The insurer is a joint venture of Videocon and Liberty Citystate Holdings Pte Ltd, a unit of US-based Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.

Diamond Dealtrade Ltd, part of steel pipe maker DP Jindal Group, will hold 26% of Liberty Videocon General while Enam will own 25.32% upon completion of the deal, the filing said. The transaction is subject to “various closing conditions”, it added.

The country’s largest lender State Bank of India recently initiated insolvency trial against Videocon at the National Company Law Tribunal.

In November, the company even agreed to sell its home appliances brand Kenstar to private equity firm Everstone for an undisclosed amount thus putting its assets for sale.

Videocon in 2016 had agreed to merge its direct-to-home television arm with Dish TV leading the merger in losses.

According to stock-exchange filings,Videocon’s revenue from operations for the nine months through December 2017 slumped to Rs 2,778.91 crore from Rs 7,524.35 crore. Its net loss widened to Rs 3,191.51 crore from Rs 1,254.35 crore.