Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has reportedly marked a full exit from PB Fintech, the parent entity of insurance aggregator PolicyBazaar, scoring returns of around $650 Mn on its investment.
SoftBank invested close to $200 Mn in the Gurugram-based PB Fintech during its initial days, as per various media reports.
In December last year, SoftBank offloaded 2.53% of its stake in PB Fintech in multiple block deals worth a cumulative INR 913.7 Cr, marking its full exit.
Earlier, as of the end of September, SoftBank, represented by Svf Python II (Cayman) Ltd, held a 4.39% stake in PB Fintech, as per the company’s shareholding pattern.
Furthermore, in October, SoftBank divested an additional 2.5% stake in the parent company of PolicyBazaar, generating proceeds of INR 871 Cr from the transaction.
In the last 12 months, SoftBank has been consistently reducing its stakes in listed Indian startups, including the recent exit from PB Fintech.
It was reported earlier that Softbank sold stakes worth $1.8-1.9 Bn during the public offerings and through post-listing sales in four Indian startups — Paytm, Zomato, PB Fintech and Delhivery.
In December, SoftBank offloaded 9.35 Cr ($1.1Mn) shares of foodtech giant Zomato in an INR 1,127 Cr block deal as well.
SoftBank is the largest institutional shareholder of Ola Electric and FirstCry. Both the companies have filed draft papers for their initial public offerings last month.
However, SoftBank is also preparing itself to invest in Indian startups again, after a dry spell of nearly 18 months. SoftBank will be resuming signing deals with Indian startups shortly.
Meanwhile, Policybazaar clocked insurance premiums worth INR 3,475 Cr in Q2 FY24, up from INR 2,545 Cr in Q2 FY23. PB Fintech saw its net loss decline over 89% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 21 Cr in the quarter ended September 2023. The company reported a net loss of INR 187 Cr in the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2022-23 (FY23).
PB Fintech shares were trading at INR 871.85 at 9:30 am on BSE during Thursday’s session.
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