India’s insurance price comparison site Policybazaar to join booming IPO market

New Delhi: Online insurance marketplace Policybazaar has filed for an IPO that could raise as much as Rs60.18 billion, joining a growing list of startups preparing to tap capital markets as India's digital economy booms. The owner of Policybazaar startup has submitted initial documents with the market regulator for what would be the third-largest Indian debut of 2021.

It plans to raise up to Rs37.5 billion via a sale of new shares, according to a public notice published Monday. Existing backers will seek to sell as much as Rs22.68 billion worth of shares.

Policybazaar parent PB Fintech said it might consider a Rs7.5 billion pre-IPO placement of stock. Policybazaar, also backed by Tiger Global Management and Tencent Holdings, was founded in 2008 to tap the large population of under-insured in India. It joins the tech-funding boom that accelerated after Zomato’s July debut received a rousing response from investors, who have since sent its stock soaring roughly 80 per cent. More than a dozen startups are preparing to debut on the stock markets in the next 18 months.