Shriram Group plans to add 2,500 new employees to the proposed merged financial services business in the next 18 to 24 months. The scheme is currently awaiting insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and Competition Commission of India (CCI) approval, two insurance regulatory bodies. The composite merger has already received RBI's permission. According to the media sources, Managing Director and CEO of Shriram City Union Finance YS Chakravarti stated that there are currently 51,000 people working for both SCUF and STFC. Chakravarti informed that they would hire individuals to sell SCUF's products in these states after the merger. He said over the next 18 to 24 months, they will hire 2,500 new employees for their sales, credit, and collection departments. A composite scheme of arrangement and amalgamation of financial services businesses, comprising two listed companies, Shriram Transport and Shriram City Union Finance, was announced by the Group in December 2021. Chakravarti revealed that the group plans to divide the company into five distinct geographical areas, each of which would be run by a joint managing director (JMD), following the merger. The scheme includes, an amalgamation of Shrilekha Business Consultancy with Shriram Capital (SCL); demerger of SCL undertaking carrying on the businesses of Financial Services and other businesses, and the transfer and vesting of those undertakings into Shriram Investment Holdings (SIHL); demerger of SCL undertakings carrying on the businesses of a) Life Insurance and b) General Insurance, and the transfer and vesting of the same undertaking into a) Shriram LI Holdings (SLIH), b) Shriram GI Holdings Private Limited (SGIH) each; an amalgamation of SCL (with its rest of the undertaking and investments) with Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC); and an amalgamation of Shriram City Union Finance Limited (SCUP) with STFC. The RBI stated that it had no objections to the scheme earlier this month. Shriram Transport closed at Rs. 1137.15 per share, down by 0.97%. Shriram City shares dropped 1.65% to close at 1590.50 per share on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Chakravarti said that from there, expect the NCLT to come back to them with permission somewhere between 60-90 days. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has requested the voting of creditors and shareholders of STFC, SCUF, and SCL. The combined business would have a combined asset under management (AUM) of more than 1.5 lakh crore and a distribution network of more than 3,500 branches, the group announced in December 2021. Image Source Also read: IKEA to infuse Rs 3,000 crore in Karnataka