Khaitan & Co, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas act on BNP Paribas Cardif acquiring stake in IndiaFirst Life Insurance

BNP Paribas Cardif has acquired approximately 26% stake in IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited from Carmel Point Investments Ltd (Warburg Pincus holding company), subject to requisite approvals from the IRDAI and the Competition Commission of India.

The transaction involved a unique pre-closing restructuring exercise, wherein Carmel Point India Investments underwent voluntary liquidation, followed by an in specie distribution of its assets, including its shareholding in IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company, to its parent entity as a condition precedent to the proposed acquisition.

Khaitan & Co advised BNP Paribas Cardif on this stake acquisition. The Firm provided end-to-end legal representation to BNP Paribas Cardif with respect to the deal including drafting, reviewing, commenting, marking-up and negotiating the Share Purchase Agreement and the Shareholders' Agreement; conducting the legal due-diligence exercise on the Target; and advising on regulatory related aspects.

The transaction team consisted of K Aishwarya (Partner), Shishir Jose Vayttaden (Partner), Niyati Dholakia (Principal Associate) and Ambreen Rahman (Associate). The following provided assistance:

Insurance law aspects: Aravind Venugopal (Partner) and Amrutha Alapati (Associate);

Transaction structure aspects: Mohit Kishore (Partner), Bhaskar Vishwajeet (Associate) and Jahnavi Yalavarthi (Associate);

Competition law aspects: Anisha Chand (Partner), Alisha Mehra (Principal Associate), Yatharth Vardhan Singh (Senior Associate), and Vrinda Bhardwaj (Associate);

Intellectual property law aspects: Nirupam Lodha (Partner), Shivangi Narang (Principal Associate) and Gautam Wadhwa (Senior Associate);

Employment law aspects: Vinay Joy (Partner), Aditya J Nair (Senior Associate), Shaaryl Dsouza (Associate) and Tanvi Uday Shetty (Associate);

Data privacy law aspects: Supratim Chakraborty (Partner), Himeli Chatterjee (Senior Associate) and Mayank Barman (Associate).

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co advised IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company on this transaction.

The transaction was led by Shailaja Lall (Partner), with support from Suhaas Arora (Senior Associate), Associates Nidhi Lakhotia and Aviral Bhardwaj.

BNP Paribas Cardif intends to roll out its proven bancassurance strategy in India by partnering with Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India to expand the availability of financial protection and savings products.

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