Niva Bupa Health Insurance, formerly known as Max Bupa, has filed draft documents with market regulator Sebi for a Rs 3,000-crore initial public offering (IPO).
The public issue of the standalone health insurer comprises fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 800 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to Rs 2,200 crore by the promoters and external investors.
The OFS will see the promoter company, Bupa Singapore Holdings Pte, sell shares worth Rs 320 crore while external investor Fettle Tone LLP will sell shares worth Rs 1,880 crore.
Currently, Bupa Singapore Holdings Pte and Fettle Tone LLP hold 62.27% and 27.86%, respectively, in the company.
The company is also planning for a pre-IPO placement of up to Rs 160 crore (20% of the fresh issue). If the pre-IPO placement is successful, the fresh issue size will reduce accordingly, the company said in its draft filings.
Niva Bupa is one of the five standalone health insurers with a specific focus on retail health insurance. The company posted a gross written premium of Rs 5,606 crore in FY24, 38% higher than Rs 4,073 crore in FY23. As of March 2024, Niva Bupa commands a market share of 16.24% among the standalone players with 14.73 insured million lives.
Of the IPO proceeds, the company intends to use Rs 625 crore to augment its capital base for strengthening the solvency levels and the remaining for general corporate purposes.
As of March 2024, Niva Bupa had 143,074 agents, 210 physical branches across 26 states. It also distributes products through 64 banks and other corporate agents. Individual agents contributed 32.07% of its business in the financial year ending March 2024, followed by corporate agents (27.25%), and other broker channels (27.04%).
“We intend to grow our GWP by expanding our presence across India, which will require additional investments, including to open new branches, or to develop new lines of business or verticals in our distribution arrangements with our existing bank and other corporate agents distributors and marketing,” the company said in its filings.
