Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has reportedly exited PB Fintech, the parent company of insurance aggregator PolicyBazaar, with returns of approximately $650 million on its investment.
SoftBank initially invested close to $200 million in PB Fintech during its early stages. In December last year, SoftBank sold 2.53% of its stake in PB Fintech through multiple block deals totaling INR 913.7 crore, marking its complete exit from the company.
As of September, SoftBank, represented by Svf Python II (Cayman) Ltd, held a 4.39% stake in PB Fintech, according to the company’s shareholding pattern. In October, SoftBank divested an additional 2.5% stake in the parent company of PolicyBazaar, generating INR 871 crore from the transaction.
Over the past year, SoftBank has been reducing its stakes in various listed Indian startups, including its recent exit from PB Fintech. Reports indicate that SoftBank has sold stakes worth $1.8-1.9 billion during public offerings and post-listing sales in four Indian startups—Paytm, Zomato, PB Fintech, and Delhivery.
In December, SoftBank sold 9.35 crore ($1.1 million) shares of foodtech giant Zomato in an INR 1,127 crore block deal. SoftBank is the largest institutional shareholder of Ola Electric and FirstCry, both of which have filed draft papers for their initial public offerings. After a dry spell of nearly 18 months, SoftBank is gearing up to resume investing in Indian startups soon.
Meanwhile, Policybazaar recorded insurance premiums worth INR 3,475 crore in Q2 FY24, up from INR 2,545 crore in Q2 FY23. PB Fintech reported a net loss decline of over 89% year-on-year to INR 21 crore in the quarter ended September 2023, compared to a net loss of INR 187 crore in Q2 FY23.
During Thursday’s trading session, PB Fintech shares were trading at INR 871.85 on the BSE at 9:30 am.
