PB Fintech Shares Soar After SoftBank Sells 5% Stake

PB Fintech Achieves Adjusted EBITDA Profitability in Q4, Net Loss Narrows To INR 9 Cr

SUMMARY

The names of the seller(s) is undisclosed but SoftBank was reportedly selling 5% of its holding before the opening bell today

Brokered by Citi, the deal’s base price was reportedly INR 440 per share

The shares of PB Fintech opened at INR 481 and were trading at INR 469.70 at 12 PM today

Shares of PB Fintech, the parent company of online insurance aggregator Policybazaar, soared nearly 6% on the National Stock Exchange, reaching its intraday high of INR 489 on Friday (December 2, 2022). The upward trend in the stock shortly follows a block deal where 5% of the company changed hands before the opening of the bell.

While the names of the buyer(s) and the seller(s) are undisclosed, reports have previously suggested that SoftBank would sell 5% of its holding worth INR 1,000 Cr in PB Fintech. The deal would take place at a discount of 4.6% on PB Fintech’s last closing price of INR 461.55.

Brokered by Citi, the deal’s base price would be INR 440 per share, a CNBC report had said.

Last week, too, PB Fintech’s shares jumped 15% in two days after WF Asian Smaller Companies Fund bought a 1.5% stake in the startup worth INR 271 Cr in two separate bulk deals. Besides SoftBank, Tiger Global has also divested a 6.55% stake in PB Fintech.

The move also follows a rise in PB Fintech’s operating revenue and a decline in losses. The startup’s revenue doubled to INR 573.5 Cr in Q2 FY23 from the corresponding quarter last year and its losses declined by 8.6% to INR 186.5 Cr. Sequentially, it rose 13.5% from INR 505.18 Cr.

The startup has been backed by marquee investors such as SoftBank, Temasek and Info Edge and has raised over $766 Mn in private rounds before its INR 6,017 Cr worth of IPO.

As of September 2022, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank held a total stake of 10.16% through its SVF Python II (Cayman) Limited and SVF India Holdings (Cayman) Limited. Shortly before the IPO, the investment firm sold $250 Mn worth of PB Fintech shares. It had invested a total of about $199 Mn in PB Fintech

Notably, at the current share price of PB Fintech, SoftBank’s stake in the company was worth more than INR 2,000 Cr (approximately $250 Mn). From its IPO, PB Fintech has wiped more than 60% of the share value for its investors, including SoftBank.

SoftBank’s offloading of shares in PB Fintech also follows its sell-off in Indian fintech giant Paytm. SoftBank offloaded $200 Mn worth of shares from Paytm.

The shares of PB Fintech opened at INR 481 and were trading at INR 469.70 at 12 PM today.

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