Policybazaar plans to raise Rs6,500 through IPO

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Following a flurry of IPOs by startups this year, online insurance aggregator Policybazaar plans to come up with an initial public offering (IPO) of Rs 6,500 crore this year.  The company is seeking a valuation of $5 billion, according to a news report in The Economic Times. The IPO is expected to be a combination of fresh shares and an offer for sale.

The news report stated that PB Fintech, which is the parent company of Policybazaar, may file a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) soon with an aim to list in December.

When contacted Policybazaar declined to offer comments.

Expansion plans

Policybazaar is launching offline retail stores across India, as the brand has set up 15 stores with plans to expand to 100 locations. The offline stores will provide customers the comfort of a local physical presence to help resolve any queries or service requests, the company said earlier.

Through the stores, customers will have access to Policybazaar’s proprietary comparison engines that will help them choose the right insurance product, enhance their ability to compare multiple products, all underpinned by a seamless end-to-end technology in the insurance journey, it added.

Policybazaar has also launched its group health insurance programme for SMEs, MSMEs and large corporates to offer customised plans based on the company’s size, number of employees and location.

Recently it has got approval from regulator IRDAI to undertake insurance broking, a development that will help the company augment business and expand its bouquet of services. The broking license will allow the company to venture into segments which it could not do in the past like claims assistance, offline services, and establish Points of Presence network.

The parent company PB Fintech also promotes Paisabazaar.com, which is an online credit comparison portal. PB Fintech had attained the status of a unicorn in 2018 when it raised $200 million in a Series-F round led by Japan’s SoftBank. Other investors include the likes of Info Edge, Premji Invest, Temasek, Ribbit Capital, Chiratae, Inventus Capital Partners, True North, Tiger Global, Wellington, and Steadview.