Policybazaar, an India-based insurance aggregator and broker, has filed for an initial public offering, seeking to raise US$809 million (SG$1.094 billion) by following in the footsteps of several Indian start-ups going public in recent months.
Based on documents submitted to the market’s securities regulator, Policybazaar is looking to raise US$504 million through issuing new shares, while the remainder will be from selling shares of existing investors, Techcrunch reported.
Softbank, one of Policybazaar’s main backers, is reportedly looking to sell shares worth US$250 million, while the start-up’s founders PB Fintech could sell up to US$52.7 million in shares. The company, which was founded 12 years ago, is also backed by Falcon Edge Capital, Tiger Global, and InfoEdge. It is also planning to raise around US$100 million through a pre-IPO funding round.
Policybazaar is counting on the rapid growth of the Indian insurance market in the coming years, as it seeks to expand its business.
“India’s life insurance market is expected to grow at 18.8% p.a. to reach [US$425 billion] in FY2030, driven by favourable macro indicators, rising awareness towards financial products and services, digitisation and simplification of products and processes, online channels for distributions, innovations and customisations in products and favourable government policies and regulatory push,” the company said in its prospectus.
Indian compatriot and food delivery service Zomato had a stellar market listing last month, while competing digital payments firms Paytm and MobiKwik have also filed for IPOs in recent weeks.
