Policy Bazar Fintech Execs to Sell 1.86% Stake
Yashish Dahiya, chairman and CEO, and Alok Bansal, vice-chairman of Policy Bazar Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar, plan to sell a combined stake of 1.86% in the company.
Dahiya will offer up to 5.4 million shares, while Bansal will sell up to 2.97 million shares. The shares will be sold at a floor price of ₹1,258 each, a 6% discount to the 16 May 2024 closing price of ₹1,338.25 on the BSE. This amounts to an estimated total deal value of ₹1,053 crore (approximately $126 million).
Investment bank Morgan Stanley is managing the sale. Policy Bazar Fintech spokespersons did not respond to requests for comment.
The two executives currently hold a combined stake of 6.3%, with Dahiya and Bansal owning 4.63% and 1.67%, respectively. Post-sale, their holdings will reduce to 3.43% and 1.01%.
This decision comes amid a strong year for Policy Bazar Fintech’s stock price, which has surged by 67% year-to-date, significantly outperforming the benchmark Nifty 50 index’s 3% gain. Notably, there is a one-year lock-in period preventing the vendors from selling additional shares within that timeframe.
This news follows the exit of another major shareholder earlier this year. On 1 February 2024, Singaporean investment giant Temasek Holdings sold its entire 5.42% stake in PB Fintech for ₹2,425 crore.
The company reported strong performance for the quarter ending 31 March 2024. Consolidated net profit soared to ₹60.19 crore, a significant turnaround from the ₹9.34 crore loss in the same period last year. Consolidated revenue also increased by 25.4%, reaching ₹1,089.57 crore from ₹869.10 crore the previous year.
Insurance business major driver of growth The insurance business remained a major growth driver, with total insurance premiums for the quarter amounting to ₹5,127 crore, contributing to an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of ₹20,000 crore. This growth is mainly due to the expansion of new health and life insurance segments.
The company’s core online marketplaces, Policy azaar and Paisabazaar, also performed exceptionally well. Revenue surged by 39% to ₹2,375 crore for FY2024. Additionally, adjusted EBITDA improved year-over-year to ₹324 crore.
Policy Bazar Fintech provides integrated online marketing, IT consulting, and support services primarily for the financial services industry, focusing on insurance. They are behind PolicyBazaar, India’s largest digital insurance marketplace, and PaisaBazaar, a platform that simplifies access to lending products.
The company had a successful stock market debut on 15 November 2021, with shares listing at a 22.7% premium, trading at ₹1,202 compared to the issue price of ₹980
