FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The German insurer Allianz said on Monday that it was selling its 26% stake in two joint ventures with India's Bajaj Finserv to the Bajaj Group for around 2.6 billion euros ($2.84 billion).

Last year, Bajaj Finserv had said that Allianz was considering exiting the joint ventures, ending a decades-old partnership.

Allianz said in its announcement that India remained an important growth market and it would explore new opportunities there.

The Germany company had tried unsuccessfully to increase its stake in the Bajaj joint ventures, two people with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

One of the people said that Allianz was exploring a possible venture with the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Group firm Jio Financial Services.

Bloomberg first reported the talks of the possible partnership last year.

($1 = 0.9158 euros)