After the parting of ways by Cholamandalam Finance (Murugappa Group) and Guardian Royal Exchange Ltd (Part of AXA group of France), in their proposed Non-Life insurance venture, announced earlier in the week, it is now the turn of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, the largest life insurer in the United States and the M A Chidambaram group, the largest industrial house in South India.

The two groups had earlier entered into an understanding to set up a joint venture life insurance company in India and now it has fallen through, even before an application could be submitted with the IRDA.

Met Life is reported to be in talks with J& K Bank for a possible Joint venture. All is not going well with the MAC group, what with the flagship company SPIC, in the petrochemical business, recently defaulted in the interest payments on its $ 125 million floating rate notes. Apart from this Mr. A. C. Muthaiah, the Chairman of the company has been charge sheeted by CBI in a case relating to the Tamil Nadu state government's decision to disinvest in the company.

Met Life however is looking at India on along term perspective and besides insurance, it is also looking at outsourcing its information technology requirements and has already set up a company in Bangalore to procure software for its international operations.

Apart from the above splits, other joint ventures that have broken off in recent past are UK insurer CGNU and Bombay Dyeing, German insurer Allianz and Alpic Finance and US insurer Allstate and Dabur.

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