PolicyBazaar, the online insurance listings arm of India-based marketing and consulting firm ETechAces backed by corporates Info Edge, Intel, SoftBank and Tencent, filed for an initial public offering on Saturday.
The offering will be sized at up to $809m, with $504m consisting of newly issued shares and the remainder coming from the sale of stock by existing investors. Telecoms group SoftBank is aiming to sell more than $250m worth of shares, while the founders will offload $52.7m.
Founded in 2008, PolicyBazaar allows customers to compare and purchase policies directly from insurance providers. It also operates PaisaBazaar, a platform to compare and buy financial services products such as loans or credit cards.
Proceeds from the offering would support marketing campaigns around PolicyBazaar and PaisaBazaar, as well as other products. Money would also be allocated to customer acquisition, strategic investments and acquisitions, and expansion efforts outside of India.
PolicyBazaar raised $75m in a March 2021 round led by Falcon Edge Capital.
The company was reportedly seeking $250m in funding in July 2020, a month after telecoms firm SoftBank’s Vision Fund provided $130m for ETechAces.
Internet group Tencent acquired a 10% stake from Tiger Global Management for $150m in November 2019.
SoftBank Vision Fund had invested in a $152m series F round six months earlier, participating together with classified listings provider Info Edge’s Diphda Internet Services unit, Startup Holding and True North.
Info Edge and Intel Capital, the corporate venture capital unit of chipmaker Intel, joined Inventus Capital Partners to back a $5m series B round for PolicyBazaar in 2013. Info Edge had injected an undisclosed amount in seed financing two years earlier.
ABG Capital, IDG Ventures India, PremiInvest, Ribbit Capital, Steadview Capital, Temasek, True North and Wellington Management are also among the shareholders.
Info Edge currently holds a 14.6% stake in the company. SoftBank holds 9.5% and 6.3% through two separate vehicles, while Tencent owns 9.2%.
Claymore Investment holds a 6.3% stake and 5.5% have been allocated to employee stock options via a vehicle called Etechaces Employees Stock Option Plan Trust.
Kotak Mahindra Capital and Morgan Stanley India are the joint global coordinators and book-running lead managers, while Citigroup Global Markets India, ICICI Securities, HDFC Bank, IIFL Securities and Jefferies India are also book-running lead managers. Link Intime India is a registrar to the offer.
