2021 is turning out to be a truly golden one for India’s maturing startup ecosystem. While the country has produced a record number of unicorns already, it has also seen some of its first gen startups making blockbuster public market debuts. Joining that latter list today, is PolicyBazaar’s parent PB Fintech.
Shares of PolicyBazaar listed today, closing at over 22% premium to the issue price as it entered the public market at ₹1,150 per share, an increase from the price bond of ₹940-980 per share. At 1:55 pm, its stock was trading at ₹1, 226.40, giving it a market capitalization of ₹55,003.04 crores (~$7.3Bn).
This should not come as a surprise, since the IPO for the PolicyBazaar parent was over-subscribed by 16.59 times last week. Opened on November 1, it comprised a fresh issue of stock worth ₹3,750 crores and an offer for sale valued at ₹1,960 crores.
As part of the OFS, SVF Python II (Cayman) sold shares worth ₹1,875 crores while PB Fintech founder Yashish Dahiya sold shares worth ₹250 crores. While the portion allocated for qualified institutional buyers was subscribed 24.89 times and that allocated for retail investors subscribed to 3.31 times, the shares reserved for them and that of non-institutional investors were subscribed 7.82 times.
During the listing event at the National Stock Exchange, Dahiya said that they were lucky to solve a problem where they could educate people about the need for life insurance and that they had a long way to go. PolicyBazaar helps customers in researching and comparing various insurance policies and claims to be the foremost insurance aggregator in the country and a leading global fintech player. It commanded a market share of 93.4% in FY20.
The company said that it would utilize ₹1,500 crores to enhance the visibility & awareness of its brands, while ₹375 crores will be utilized in funding new opportunities. Additionally, ₹600 crores will be kept for funding strategic investments and acquisitions while ₹375 crores will be used to fuel international expansions.
