Policybazaar founders to cut sale of own shares in IPO by 85-90%

Policybazaar's Rs 5,700 crore IPO is looking at a listing valuation of $6.15 billion. Owing to the abundance of liquidity in the global markets and bullishness on tech IPOs in India, startups are of the view their valuation would go higher after the listing as they continue to chase growth.

Yashish Dahiya and Alok Bansal, founders of PB Fintech--parent of Policybazaar--have significantly reduced the number of shares they are selling through the offer for sale (OFS) component in the initial public offering (IPO) set to open on Monday. Increased interest in tech IPOs and the headroom for further growth in its business as well as likely valuation after the share sale led to the founders reducing their OFS by 85-90% by value.

Yashish Dahiya, who is also the chairman and CEO of PB Fintech, was supposed to sell his shares worth Rs 250 crore in the Policybazaar IPO as per the DRHP filed in August. He will now sell shares worth Rs 30 crore, according to the latest red herring prospectus (RHP) filed by the company. Similarly, Alok Bansal, also whole-time director and CFO at the firm, had intended to divest his holding to the tune of Rs 95 crore but now will sell shares worth just under Rs 13 crore. SoftBank, the largest shareholder with a stake of over 15%, is selling shares worth Rs 1,875 crore.