Decent debut: Policybazaar lists at Rs 1,150 at a premium of 17.35%

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Shares of PolicyBazaar’s parent firm PB Fintech made decent listing on the bourses on Monday. Shares of the fintech company opened for trading at a 17.35% premium over the issue price of Rs 980 per share. The stock opened at Rs 1,150 apiece on the NSE and the BSE.

The public issue of the insurance aggregator was subscribed 16.58 times. The issue saw a good demand from investors as it received bids for 57.23 crore equity shares against offer size of 3.45 crore equity shares, which resulted into a subscription of 16.59 times on November 3, the final day of bidding.

The qualified institutional investors, for whom the 75 percent of the offer is reserved, have put in bids 24.89 times the portion set aside for them. Non-institutional investors have bought 7.82 times shares of their total reserved portion. Retail investors’ response to the offer remained strong as their reserved portion was subscribed 3.31 times.

The issue opened for bidding Monday (November 1) and closes on November 3. The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 940-980 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 15 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Ahead of the IPO, PB Fintech on  Otober 29, 2021, finalised allocation of 2,62,18,079 equity shares to anchor investors at an allocation price of Rs 980 per share, aggregating to Rs 2,569.37 crore.

The IPO consisted of a fresh issue to raise Rs 3,750 crore and an offer for sale of shares worth Rs 1,959.72 crore by existing shareholders.

In addition, the company expects to receive the benefits of listing of the equity shares on the stock exchanges. The company reported a net loss of Rs 110.84 crore and sales of Rs 237.73 crore in the quarter ended on 30 June 2021.

PB Fintech, owner of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar platforms, is India’s largest online platform for insurance and lending products leveraging the power of technology, data, and innovation. It provides convenient access to insurance, credit and other financial products and aims to create awareness amongst Indian households about the financial impact of death, disease, and damage.

The company seeks to enable online research-based purchases of insurance and lending products and increase transparency through consumer-centric approach, which enables consumers to make informed choices. The company also facilitates its insurer and lending partners in the financial services industry to innovate and design customized products for consumers leveraging its extensive data insights and data analytics capabilities.