Policybazaar raises Rs 2,569 crore from insurance cos, others in IPO anchor round

Online insurance aggregator Policybazaar has raised over Rs 2,569 crore from 155 anchor investors, which included leading insurance firms such as HDFC Life, ICICI Prudential, Bajaj Allianz Life, SBI General Insurance, and Max Life Insurance.

The SoftBank-backed startup saw bids that were nearly 40 times higher for the anchor slot of its initial public offering (IPO), with investors like Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, Dragoneer Group, BlackRock and others also participating.

Steadview Capital, Tiger Global and Falcon Edge, the existing investors in PB Fintech – the parent firm of Policybazaar -- have also further doubled down on the company through the anchor investment.


“The investment from insurance companies, who know the company well, is a validation. The overall bids in the anchor investment slot were 40 times higher,” a person aware of the matter said.

Policybazaar’s IPO will open on November 1 and close on November 3.

The IPO comprises a fresh issue of Rs 3,750 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of more than Rs 1,900 crore, largely by SoftBank.

It has set a price band of Rs 940-Rs 980 per share for the IPO. The firm is looking to list at a valuation of $6.15 billion.

PB Fintech will continue to chase growth in the long term over short-term profit, ET reported earlier this week, citing cofounder and chairman Yashish Dahiya.

“Even in our conversations with prospective anchor investors, we have communicated that we will continue to grow the business as is and we have received tremendous support from them,” Dahiya had told ET.