Google to spend $150 million for 10% stake in Policybazaar: Report

Google may acquire a minority stake in Policybazaar, according to a report by The Economic Times quoting sources.

Quoting people close to the business developments, the report said that Google might invest about $150 million and acquire about 10 percent of the SoftBank-backed online insurance platform. SoftBank, which holds a 15 percent stake in Policybazaar, may make a partial exit, the report stated quoting sources. DH independently could not verify the report.

"Google is looking at the deal as it wants to increase its presence in the Indian digital market. The valuation and the stake will depend on the last investment rounds," the source told the publication.

Earlier in July, as part of its goal to invest approximately $10 billion over the next five to seven years in India, Google had announced that it will buy a $4.5 billion stake in Reliance's digital unit and jointly develop an entry-level smartphone. Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani said it would give the US firm a 7.7 percent stake in Jio Platforms.

According to the report, SoftBank and Google didn't respond to the queries of the publication and people close to Google denied that any such deal. Policybazaar also declined to comment on the issue.

READ: Policybazaar seeks $3.5 billion IPO in 2021 amid India's digital economy boom

Three weeks ago, Bloomberg News reported that Policybazaar aims to go public in 2021 "at a valuation north of $3.5 billion". Policybazaar's co-founder, Yashish Dahiya, had said that the SoftBank-Backed FinTech startup plans to secure about $250 million in a round of financing at a $2 billion-plus valuation before a September 2021 initial public offering.

(With agency inputs)