Companies
Niva Bupa ropes in Kotak, Axis, HDFC & three others to run its ₹3,000-crore IPO
Summary
- The development comes months after the company's majority shareholder True North sold a big chunk of its stake to its UK partner Bupa
- Niva Bupa, which has lined up six investment banks for its IPO, will be the second health insurer to go public this year, after GoDigit
Mumbai: Private health insurer Niva Bupa has lined up six investment banks to raise ₹3,000 crore in an initial public offering this year, three people aware of the development said.
The development comes months after the company's majority shareholder True North sold a big chunk of its stake to its UK partner Bupa.
The company has appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital Co., Axis Capital, HDFC Bank, Morgan Stanley, ICICI Securities and Motilal Oswal to manage the public issue, the people cited above said.
Also read: True North sells 20% stake in Niva Bupa
“Investment banks have been appointed and the company is looking for a listing towards the end of 2024," one of the three people cited above said on condition of anonymity. That would make Niva Bupa this year's second health insurer to go public, after GoDigit.
In September 2023, homegrown PE firm True North sold around 20% of its stake in the insurer for ₹2,700 crore. Bupa, a UK-based healthcare company, was a founding shareholder when the business was first established in India in 2008.
The company was looking to raise ₹1,100 crore in primary capital at a valuation of ₹12,600 crore in a pre-IPO round, Mint reported in September.
Also read: ‘Transparency in hospital costs is key to affordable health premiums’
The IPO may value the company at ₹15,000-18000 crore, the second person added.
Queries emailed to spokespersons of True North, Niva Bupa, and the six investment bankers remained unanswered at the time of publishing.
True North acquired 55.6% in Niva Bupa in 2019 from Max India Ltd for ₹510 crore. The acquisition was made via Fettle Tone, special purpose vehicle set up by True North. In March 2021, Axis Bank acquired 9.9% in the SPV for ₹90.8 crore. True North now holds little more than 60% of the SPV, with other investors holding the remaining.
Also read: Max Bupa Health Insurance rebranded as Niva Bupa
“True North is likely to sell around half of its stake as part of the offer for sale during the IPO," the third person cited above said, adding the company may file its draft IPO papers by July.
In FY23, Niva Bupa clocked more than ₹4,000 crore in gross written premium or GWP, expanding its presence to nearly every district in the country, with over 8% market share in the health insurance market.
The health insurance segment breached the ₹1 trillion mark in FY24, driving the non-life insurance growth in India, a March 2024 report by CareEdge said.
