Linklaters advises on PolicyBazaar’s US$767m IPO
Linklaters advised the book running lead managers on the initial public offering (IPO) of PB Fintech Ltd, the parent company of online insurance aggregator and unicorn company, PolicyBazaar, on both the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). This transaction represents one of the largest unicorn IPOs to list on the NSE and BSE and is one of the recent new-age tech unicorns to make its debut listing.
Upon listing, PolicyBazaar emerged as the most valuable insurance marketplace in the world, raising INR57,097m (approx. US$767m). PB Fintech Ltd. will use the proceeds to increase visibility and awareness of its PolicyBazaar and PaisaBazaar brands and grow its consumer base by offering offline services and expanding its presence outside of India.
The book running lead managers on the transaction comprised Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited, Morgan Stanley India Company Private Limited, Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited, ICICI Securities Limited, HDFC Bank Limited, IIFL Securities Limited and Jefferies India Private Limited.
The Linklaters team was led by Head of South and Southeast Asia Capital Markets partner, Amit Singh, with support from counsel Joseph Wolpin and associate Kundhavi Suresh Kumar.
Capital Markets partner Amit Singh commented:
“We are honoured to have assisted PolicyBazaar in further strengthening its presence in the insurance sector and to have played a part in this landmark IPO. Given the rapid digitalisation and technology adoption in a populous country like India, we look forward to seeing more unicorns come to market from various sectors in the country.”
PolicyBazaar has built India’s largest 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 aims to create increased financial awareness amongst Indian households.
Linklaters has an established reputation as the leading Indian capital markets practice, offering technical expertise and commercial awareness to create novel solutions to maximise investment opportunities. The team has worked on the development of some of the most complex and innovative transaction structures in the Asia region, and have one of the largest teams of any firm, focused on India and Southeast Asia.
