Online insurance marketplace Policybazaar has filed a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities Exchange Board of India for an initial public offering to raise Rs 6,017.50 crore from the market.

With this, Policybazaar joins a growing number of Indian startups looking to raise funds from the capital markets to support the country's booming digital economy.

The IPO will be undertaken by PB Fintech Ltd, the parent of Policybazaar. The issue comprises a fresh issue of Rs 3,750 crore worth of equity shares and an offer for sale of Rs 2,267.50 crore by existing shareholders and promoters.

The OFS will see sales of up to Rs 1,875 crore worth of shares by SVF Python II (Cayman) and up to Rs 392.50 crore by others.

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Reuters file

The company also proposes to raise Rs 750 crore through the placement of shares before the IPO. Information regarding this has already been shared by the company with the regulator.

A major chunk of the money raised through the IPO will be used for the expansion of the company's operations and for furthering growth plans. Reports suggest that Policybazaar is seeking a valuation of $5.5-6 billion.

Policybazaar is backed by investors such as Softbank, Temasek, Info Edge, Tiger Global Management and Tencent Holdings Ltd., which was founded in 2008 to tap the vast under-served Indian insurance market.

Its IPO follows a good response received by another Indian startup Zomato. This IPO received an overwhelming response from the market that has seen its shares jump over 80 per cent.

Policybazaar works on the business model that provides its customers choice of policies at different price points and helps them in making an informed decision on insurance.

The success of this IPO is expected to open the floodgates for similar entities to tap the market.

Kotak Mahindra and Morgan Stanley are the global coordinators for PB Fintech's IPO. Other bookrunners include Citigroup, ICICI Securities, HDFC Bank, IIFL Securities and Jefferies.

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