Bharti Group on Wednesday said it has entered into a binding agreement with its joint venture partner AXA to acquire its 49 per cent stake in Bharti AXA Life Insurance.

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Post transaction, Bharti Life Ventures Private Limited (BLVPL), the holding company of Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company, will own 100 per cent stake in the life insurer.

Currently, France-based AXA owns 49 per cent stake in the joint venture with Bharti.The transaction is subject to receipt of requisite regulatory approvals, Bharti Group said in a statement.

Pursuant to the two parties' decision to merge Bharti AXA General Insurance with ICICI Lombard in 2020, and the subsequent exit of AXA from the shareholding of ICICI Lombard, BLVPL has now entered into an agreement to acquire AXA's 49 per cent shareholding and fully own the company, it said.

Bharti's intention is to ensure that the life insurance business continues to serve the Indian market and, in this regard, it is engaging with other strategic and financial investors to partner or combine, so as to continue to scale this business, it said.

The transaction is expected to close by December 2023, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, it said.Bharti set up the ventures with AXA in 2006 and held 74 per cent stake in both - Bharti AXA Life Insurance and Bharti AXA General Insurance.

In 2020, Bharti Group and AXA exited the general insurance business by selling Bharti AXA General Insurance to ICICI Lombard.Based on the share exchange ratio recommended by independent valuers and accepted by the boards of the two companies, the shareholders of Bharti AXA received two shares of ICICI Lombard for every 115 shares of Bharti AXA held by them.