SoftBank, a Japanese technology investor, has fully exited PB Fintech, the parent company of insurance marketplace Policybazaar, according to a report by The Economic Times. Having initially invested approximately $200 million in PB Fintech, SoftBank recently in mid-December transaction sold its remaining stake for about Rs. 914 crore (approximately $109 million).
According to the report, SoftBank has overall garnered returns totaling around $650 million on its investment in the Gurgaon-based insurance aggregator. Notably, this exit from PB Fintech follows SoftBank’s exit from Zomato in December.
SoftBank had acquired a stake in Zomato when the food-delivery platform took over Blinkit (formerly Grofers) in an all-stock deal in 2022.
“SoftBank sold stakes worth $1.8-1.9 billion during public offerings and through post-listing sales in four Indian startups — Paytm, Zomato, PB Fintech and Delhivery — that went public in 2021 and 2022. It had invested a total of $2.3-2.4 billion in these four new-age companies,” The Economic Times had reported on January 2.
As of September 30, 2023, SoftBank, via Svf Python II (Cayman) Limited, held a 4.39% stake in PB Fintech, as per its shareholding structure. Other major stakeholders in PB Fintech include mutual funds such as Franklin India and Mirae Asset, along with Tencent and Steadview Capital.
PB Fintech founders Alok Bansal and Yashish Dahiya maintained respective stakes of 1.67% and 4.64% at the close of the September quarter.
