Temasek Offloads Entire 5.2% Stake In Policybazaar Parent For INR 2,425 Cr

Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings has sold its entire 5.42% stake in insurtech platform Policybazaar’s parent entity PB Fintech via open market transactions.

According to BSE block deals data, a Temasek entity named Claymore Investments (Mauritius) sold 24.4 Mn shares of PB Fintech at INR 992.8 per share, taking the combined deal value to INR 2,425 Cr.

The offloaded shares were acquired by New World Fund, Capital Group Global Equity Fund (Canada), New World Fund Inc, SmallCap World Fund, Capital Group New World Fund, American Funds Insurance Series New World Fund, and Capital Group Global Equity Fund.

Following the sale of Temasek’s stake, PB Fintech’s shares experienced a 1.09% decline, opening Friday’s trading session at INR 986.05 on the BSE.

This comes days after Japanese investment major SoftBank sold 2.53% of its stake in PB Fintech through multiple block deals, amounting to a cumulative INR 913.7 Cr.

SoftBank’s SVF Python II (Cayman) Limited, which held a 4.39% stake in the parent entity of PolicyBazaar in the quarter ending September 2023, is now expected to retain 83.23 Lakh shares in PB Fintech.

Meanwhile, PB Fintech has demonstrated a positive trend in its financial performance over the past few quarters. It achieved profitability in the December quarter (Q3) of the financial year 2023-24, reporting a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 37.2 Cr.

This success can be attributed to significant growth in its insurance broking business and a reduction in costs.

As of November 2023, a report indicated that PolicyBazaar is slated to receive an infusion of INR 350 Cr ($42 Mn) from its parent PB Fintech. The transaction involves the allotment of close to 58 lakh shares by Policybazaar to its parent. This infusion by PB Fintech is anticipated to occur in multiple tranches across the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25.