In a notable financial move, Japanese technology investor SoftBank has offloaded an additional 2.54% stake in PB Fintech Ltd, the parent entity of PolicyBazaar, for around Rs 871 crore through a bulk deal on Friday. The shares, totalling 11.4 million, were sold at Rs 762.8 each.
Prior to this, SoftBank, through its entity SVF Python II (Cayman) Ltd, held a 4.39% stake in PB Fintech. Post-sale, the holding of SVF Python II (Cayman) will be reduced to 1.85%.
This isn’t the first time SoftBank has reduced its stake; in December 2022, it sold a 5.1% stake worth Rs 1,043 crore through an open market transaction.
Who are the stake buyers?
Tata Mutual Fund (MF), Kotak MF, Societe Generale, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore Pte, Nomura Singapore, Pioneer Investment Fund Scheme II, Saudi Central Bank, Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte, and Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius are among the buyers of shares of PB Fintech.
How has PB Fintech performed in the market?
With a market capitalization of Rs 34,303 crore, PB Fintech has delivered a return of 55% to investors in the past year, outperforming the Nifty 50 index, which returned 13.4%.
Nevertheless, the stock is currently trading 21% below its listing price of Rs 980 per share on the NSE. The company, initially a price-comparison platform founded by Yashish Dahiya and Alok Bansal in 2008, went public in November 2021, gaining 17% on the listing.
What lies ahead for PB Fintech?
PB Fintech, despite its fluctuating share prices since its IPO in November 2021, has shown resilience and a capacity for recovery.
After reaching a high of Rs 1,332 post-listing and subsequently dropping to Rs 356.2 last year, the stock has rallied nearly 70 per cent this year.
The company’s consolidated net loss for the June quarter was Rs 11.4 crore, a significant decrease from Rs 204 crore year-on-year (YoY). Operational revenues for the quarter saw a 32% YoY increase to Rs 666 crore.
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