SoftBank Backed Policybazaar’s IPO To Open On Nov 1 At INR 940-980 Price Band

The much anticipated initial public offering (IPO) of P.B. Fintech, the parent company of Paisabazaar and insurtech unicorn Policybazaar, will open on November 1 at the price band of INR 940-INR 980 per share.

The offer will end on November 3, according to its red herring prospectus (RHP).

At the given price band, the fintech unicorn will raise INR 5,708.64 Cr to INR 5,951.56 Cr. The issue size is over 6.07 Cr shares with a face value of INR 2 each.

The offer will include a fresh issue of up to INR 3,750 Cr.

• Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank will offload part of its stake in the fintech unicorn through offer for sale (OFS). Through SVF Python II and SVF India Holdings (Cayman) Limited, SoftBank holds over 15% stake in the company. 
  • Its OFS would include shares worth up to INR 1,875 Cr from SVF Python II (Cayman) Limited, which holds 9.45% stake in the company. 
  • SVF India Holdings (Cayman), which holds 6.31% stake, will not offload its stake during the issue.
• Yashish Dahiya, the CEO and cofounder of Policybazaar, holds 4.27% stake and will offload stocks worth INR 30 Cr in the IPO.
• The cofounder and CFO of the company, Alok Bansal, will sell stocks worth up to INR 12.75 Cr. His stake in the fintech unicorn stands at 1.47%
• Shikha Dahiya and Rajendra Singh Kuhar will offload stocks worth up to INR 12.25 Cr and INR 3.5 Cr respectively.
• Founder United Trust will offload 267,500 shares in the OFS.

The fintech unicorn plans to utilise INR 1,500 Cr from the proceeds of the IPO on enhancing the visibility and awareness of its brands. 

New opportunities to expand growth initiatives to increase consumer base including offline presence would entail an expenditure of around INR 375 Cr, the RHP said.

Around INR 600 Cr will be utilised in funding strategic investments and acquisitions.  Further, the company will utilise INR 375 Cr for expanding its presence outside India.

Founded by Yashish 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. The Delhi NCR based startup had filed DRHP in August. 

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

In FY21, the company reported INR 957.4 Cr in total income, up 12% over the previous fiscal.

With the announcement of the IPO dates, PB Fintech has joined the list of new-age companies to open its public offer right ahead of Diwali.

The IPOs of FSN E-Commerce, which operates the online lifestyle and beauty products marketplace Nykaa and Fino Payments Bank, will open on October 28 and October 29, respectively.