AZB Amarchand Platinum Paul Weiss and Freshfields lead on Mitsui Sumitomos acquisition of 26 stake in Max New York Life

Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company has acquired 26 per cent stake in Max New York Life Insurance Company, a joint venture between Max India and US-based New York Life Insurance, for Rs. 2,731 crore ($530 million) in an all-cash transaction. New York Life Insurance, the current foreign shareholder has completely exited from the JV..AZB & Partners advised Max India and Max New York Life Insurance Company. The AZB team was led by Managing Partner Ajay Bahl along with Corporate Partner Anil Kasturi and Tax Partner Ravi Prakash and Associates Atreyee Banerjee, Debanshu Mukherjee and Chandni Ghei..Amarchand Mangaldas advised Mitsui Sumitomo with a team led by Bangalore Partners Nivedita Rao and Arjun Lall and Delhi-based Principal Consultant Amit Singhania advised on tax related issues..Paul Weiss acted as International legal counsel to Mitsui Sumitomo..Platinum Partners acted as domestic counsel for New York Life Insurance with a team led by Partners Nihar Mody and Yashasvi Mohanram along with Associates Kannika Premnarayen and Sunandan Majumdar while the New York office of Freshfields acted as International legal advisors..According to VCCircle, the two-stage transaction valued the Max New York Life Insurance, a 74-26 joint venture between Max India and the US based New York Life Insurance at Rs 10,506 crore, the second highest valuation of a life insurance company in the private sector..As per the arrangement, Max India, the majority partner will acquire 9.37 per cent stake in Max New York Life Insurance from its US JV partner New York Life Insurance for Rs 182.2 crore ($35 million), which it would sell to Mitsui Sumitomo for Rs 984.45 crore ($191 million). The Japanese insurance major will acquire the balance 16.63 per cent from New York Life Insurance for 1,746 crore ($339 million)..Last year, in one of the largest FDI deals in the insurance space, Reliance Life sold 26 percent stake in its insurance business to Japanese insurance conglomerate, Nippon Life Insurance Company. Reliance Life was advised by the Bombay office of Amarchand Mangaldas while Nippon Life relied on Khaitan & Co along with its Japanese lawyers Anderson Mori & Tomotsune.