Aditya Birla Finance (ABFL), a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital, has evinced interest in placing a bid for Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company, a joint venture between Reliance Capital (RCap) and Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance.

The NBFC is considering placing a bid for the firm, which did not receive any offer, with the deadline for submission of non-binding bids ending on August 29. A valuer appointed by the administrator for RCap’s insolvency proceedings had pegged the embedded value of the life insurance company at Rs 5,800 crore, sources close to the development said. The current deadline to submit binding bids ends on October 31.

Earlier, Gujarat-based Torrent Group had partnered with Nippon Life Insurance to bid for RCap’s 51% stake in Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company. Torrent Group was among the companies that had submitted bids for RCap’s assets under option-1.

Reliance Nippon Life Insurance was put under option-2, while the entire assets of RCap was put under option-1. The private sector insurer, in which Nippon Life holds a 49% stake, had recorded a total premium of Rs 5,037 crore for FY22, compared with Rs 4,736 crore in the previous year.

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Though Reliance Nippon Life did not receive any bid, the remaining businesses of RCap had received 14 non-binding bids.

NCLT rejects Axis Bank claim

The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has rejected Axis Bank’s claim to be recognised as a financial creditor. The private lender sought the tribunal’s intervention to admit its Rs 145.02-crore claim.

NCLT disposed of Axis Bank’s claim as “rejected”, stating the applicant does not owe a ‘financial debt’.

In December last year, the bank had approached the administrator for recognition of its claim as a financial debt, a move it reiterated in February this year. Following rejections by the administrator, Axis Bank moved a plea before the NCLT.

The lender had sought to become a member of the committee of creditors during RCap’s corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).