Policybazaar parent’s shares close with nearly 23% premium
NEW DELHI: Shares of PB Fintech Ltd, which operates online insurance platform Policybazaar and credit comparison portal Paisabazaar, listed with a premium of nearly 23% against its issue price of ₹980 on Monday.
The stock made its debut at ₹1,150, up 17.34% on both the BSE and NSE.
It gained 27.44% to ₹1,249 during the day on the BSE. It rallied 22.74% to close at ₹1,202.90.
On the NSE, it jumped 22.61% to close at ₹1,201.60.
In traded volume terms, 12.93 lakh shares were traded at the BSE and over 3.63 crore shares at the NSE during the day.
The initial public offer of PB Fintech Limited was subscribed 16.59 times earlier this month.
Price range for the ₹5,710crore offer was at ₹940-980 per share.
PB Fintech commanded a market valuation of ₹54,070.33 crore on the BSE.
NSE CEO Vikram Limaye welcomed the company at the national bourses. “The listing of PB Fintech propels the story of new-age tech companies,” he said. “Indian markets have accepted the models of these companies which cannot be evaluated in conventional ways.”
The initial stake sale of PB Fintech was open for subscription between November 1-3. The fintech startup raised ₹5,625 crore via the primary route, selling its shares in the range of ₹940-980 apiece.
The net proceeds from the fresh issue are proposed to be utilised for brand building, in new opportunities to expand consumer base including offline presence; investments and acquisitions; expanding presence outside India; and for general corporate purposes.
Merely 24 hours ahead of listing, the scrip was commanding a premium of ₹150-160 in the grey market, hinting towards a reasonable listing pop at Dalal Street.
As part of the OFS, SVF Python II (Cayman) will sell shares worth Rs 1,875 crore, Yashish Dahiya will sell shares worth Rs 250 crore and some other selling shareholders will also offer shares.
The issue was subscribed 16.59 times, thanks to the solid interest of institutional buyers. However, analysts were concerned about the expensive valuations of the issue.
Also, the proceeds from the IPO were to be used for funding strategic investments and acquisitions, expanding presence outside India and general corporate purpose.
PB Fintech is the leading 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 aim to create awareness amongst Indian households about the financial impact of death, disease and damage.
Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, Morgan Stanley India Company, Citigroup Global Markets India, ICICI Securities, HDFC Bank Ltd, IIFL Securities and Jefferies India are the book running lead managers to the issue.
The portion for qualified institutional buyers was subscribed 24 times, whereas the non-institutional buyers portion attracted 7.82 times bid. Retail investors’ portion received 3.31 times bidding.
With this listing, PB Fintech has joined the likes of Nykaa and Zomato, the listed homegrown unicorns.