Policybazaar gets $75 million from Falcon Edge for UAE business – Times of India

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BENGALURU: Online financial services platform Policybazaar‘s UAE arm has raised $75 million from New York-based Falcon Edge Capital in what’s the first external funding in this entity for the Middle East business.
The UAE arm is a subsidiary of EtechAces Marketing & Consulting, which runs Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, and is aiming for an initial public offering (IPO) this year.
Policybazaar said the financing will help expand operations in UAE and Middle East along with offering customised products in the market.
SoftBank-backed Policybazaar has sold insurance schemes worth around $100 million of sum assured in UAE and expects to grow it 10 times in the next two years.
“As a brand, we are scratching the surface of how powerful online insurance and lending business can be when it is combined with advanced technology. Policybazaar’s offerings are well-timed with the rapidly increasing demand for digital solutions in the insurance and financial lending sector,” Yashish Dahiya, co-founder and group CEO of Policybazaar, said in a statement.
Navroz D Udwadia, co-founder of Falcon Edge Capital, said Policybazaar has established itself as the market leader in online insurance aggregation in India. “We believe the playbook it has established over the last 10 years in being the most efficient sales channel for insurance manufacturers can act as a catalyst to gain market leadership in the Gulf Cooperation Council,” he said.

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Delhivery aims for pre-IPO funding at $3 billion valuation – Times of India

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BENGALURU: New-age logistics major Delhivery is in talks with multiple global investors, including US-based Fidelity, for funding before its initial public offer (IPO) that would value the startup at around $3 billion, two people aware of the matter said. Delhivery was valued at a little over $2 billion after the secondary investment from Steadview Capital in December 2020, the sources added.
This indicates an almost 50% higher valuation for the SoftBank-backed Delhivery in about three months, if a deal is concluded. The pre-IPO round is said to be in the range of $100-150 million, but it could change based on discussions. This would also include a smaller secondary share sale.
In a secondary transaction, existing investors sell their stake (partial or full) to new investors and the money does not go into the company coffers.

The e-commerce-focused logistics firm is one of the leading contenders for an IPO among the top league of Indian startups.
Others include Policybazaar and Zomato, both of which have also seen similar pre-IPO transactions recently with significant jumps in their valuations. This also marks the increasing global investor interest in large Indian startups who are seen as serious contenders to go for an IPO, which could result in good returns on the investment once the company goes public.
“This will be the last fund-raise before they go for an IPO. Fidelity is in active discussions with Delhivery and there is interest from other global investors also,” one of the people mentioned earlier said.
A spokesperson of Delhivery declined to comment on the matter. Fidelity said, “As a practice, we do not comment on individual companies.”
According to the last official statement from Delhivery in December 2020, it plans to go public in the “next 12-15 months”. Sources said it continues to work with audit firms for IPO preparedness. A recent report said it is in talks with several merchant bankers for its IPO.
Started in 2011, Delhivery gets the majority of its business from e-commerce deliveries but it has started expanding in the business-to-business (B2B) segment as well. It works across sectors like consumer electronics, fashion, FMCG, and select industrial sectors like auto.
Currently, e-commerce deliveries constitute around 65% of its total business but it aims to have equal contribution from both its e-commerce and B2B verticals.
Delhivery MD & CBO Sandeep Barasia had told TOI in October 2020 that the company will exit the current financial year with a revenue of Rs 3,700-4,000 crore, surpassing market leaders like Blue Dart. Other leading delivery companies include FedEx, Ecom Express, Gati and XpressBees.
According to media reports citing regulatory filings, Delhivery cut its losses significantly to around Rs 270 crore for the fiscal year ended March 2020, along with a 75% jump in revenue to nearly Rs 3,000 crore.

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