IRDAI approves ICICI Lombard acquisition of Bharti Axa General The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has given its in-principle approval for the merger of Bharti AXA General Insurance with ICICI Lombard. The merged entity will have a market share of around 8.7 per cent on a proforma basis in the general insurance business. Based on the share exchange ratio recommended by independent valuers, shareholders of Bharti AXA will receive two shares of ICICI Lombard for every 115 shares of Bharti AXA. At present, promoter ICICI Bank Ltd holds is 51.89% stake in ICICI Lombard, while the rest is with the public. After the proposed deal, the promoter stake will come down to 48.11%. Important takeaways for all competitive exams: IRDAI Founded: 1999. IRDAI Headquarters: Hyderabad. IRDAI Chairperson: Subhash Chandra Khuntia.