Policybazaar IPO subscribed 54% on Day 1

New Delhi: The Rs 5,625 crore IPO of PB Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, kicked off for subscription on Monday. However, the issue was off to a slow start as it received only 54 per cent bids on the first day.

According to the data from National Stock Exchange (NSE), investors bid for 1,85,59,800 equity shares till 5:00 pm on the first day, against a total issue size of 3,45,12,186 equity shares.

The company is selling its share in the range of Rs 940-980 apiece. Its grey market premium has halved to Rs 150 from Rs 320 earlier after the beatdown in the secondary market.

The IPO of PB Fintech has raised several questions over the valuation. This is, perhaps, why the majority of brokerages have recommended investors to skip this loss-making start-up.

Marwadi Shares and Finance, which has an 'avoid' rating over the issue due to pricey valuation, said that considering the TTM as of June 2021, sales of Rs 949.37 crore on the post-issue basis, the company is going to list at a market cap/sales of 46.40 with a market cap of Rs 44,051 crore.

PB Fintech mopped up Rs 2,569.37 crore from 155 anchor investors on Friday, a day ahead of the IPO opening. The company finalised the allocation of 2.62 crore equity shares to anchor investors at a price of Rs 980 per share.

Amarjeet Maurya, AVP- Mid Caps, Angel One said the company provides convenient access to insurance, credit, and other financial products and aims to create awareness in India about the financial impact of death, disease, and damage.

"In terms of valuations, the post-issue FY2021 EV/Sales works out 47.6x, which is high, considering its historic performance in terms of bottom line," Maurya added, who has recommended a 'neutral' rating to the issue.