PolicyBazaar Gets SEBI Nod For INR 6,017 Cr IPO

PB Fintech which runs the online marketplaces Policybazaar and Paisabazaar has received the market regulator SEBI’s nod for its INR 6017.50 Cr IPO.

The fintech unicorn is looking for a $6 Bn -$7 Bn valuation up from an expected $5.5 Bn – $6 Bn. The company is likely to hit the public markets pre-Diwali, an ET report said.

In August 2021, the startup had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) and is looking to raise INR 6,017.50 Cr through a public listing. The offer would include a fresh issue of INR 3,750 Cr worth of equity shares and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of INR 2,267.50 Cr by existing shareholders and promoters.

SoftBank will be selling INR 1,875 Cr worth of shares, and other investors and promoters, including cofounder and CEO Yashish Dahiya, will offer OFS worth INR 392.50 Cr.

Founded by IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad alumni Dahiya, Alok Bansal, and Avaneesh Nirjar in 2008, Policybazaar aggregates insurance policies from a range of providers for use-cases, including life insurance, automobile insurance, health insurance and more.

It has raised more than $766 Mn from 22 investors including SoftBank, Temasek, Info Edge, and others.

In March, Policybazaar executed a secondary sale of shares worth about $45 Mn, with existing investors such as private equity firm True North and some individual investors selling their stake. The secondary round valued the company at $2.4 Bn.

In FY21, the company reported INR 957.4 Cr in total income, up 12% over the previous fiscal. Policybazaar reported consolidated revenue of INR 855.5 Cr in the financial year that ended in March 2020 (updated as per DRHP disclosures), up from FY19’s income of INR 528.8 Cr.

In FY21, it reported a loss of INR 150.2 Cr, which is half of the INR 304 Cr loss reported in FY20.

However, Paisabazaar’s FY21 revenue took a hit due to the pandemic. While there was some recovery in the third and the fourth quarter of FY2021, the loan disbursals sold by lending partners on the Paisabazaar platform decreased to INR 2916.8 Cr in FY21 from INR 6549.6 Cr in FY20.

The market conditions for lending startups are expected to improve in the coming months as businesses continue their financial recovery and consumers look for short term credit boosts in 2021 and early 2022.

With the clearance from SEBI, PB Fintech has joined the list of new-age companies like Zomato, Nazara and CarTrade to get listed on the Indian stock exchanges. Recently, the IPOs of Fino Payments Bank, Nykaa and MobiKwik, were also approved by the regulator.

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