Virat Kohli-backed Go Digit General Insurance gets SEBI nod for IPO

New age insurer Go Digit General Insurance, backed by Canada's Fairfax Group, has received final observation from the capital markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO) route. The insurer, which counts cricketer Virat Kohli and his actress wife Anushka Sharma as investors, had filed the preliminary IPO papers with the SEBI in April 2023, while it received approval on March 1, 2024.

The general insurance company had first filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI in August 2022, which was returned by the regulator due to certain compliance issues. The regulator returned the IPO papers on January 30, 2023, and asked the firm to refile the documents with certain updates.

The IPO of Go Digit comprises fresh issuance of shares worth ₹1,250 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of 10.94 crore shares by promoter Go Digit Infoworks Services and existing shareholders, as per the document filed with the regulator. Under the OFS, Nikita Mihir Vakharia, jointly with Mihir Atul Vakharia, Nikunj Hirendra Shah, jointly with Sohag Hirendra Shah, and Subramaniam Vasudevan, jointly with Shanti Subramaniam will also offload their shares in the company.

As per the DRHP filed with the SEBI, the company may consider raising up to Rs. 250 crore in a pre-IPO round. If such placement is completed, the fresh issue size will be reduced.

The company intends to use capital raised from fresh issuance of equity shares for the augmentation of its capital base and maintenance of solvency levels and general corporate purposes.

Go Digit offers motor insurance, health insurance, travel insurance, property insurance, marine insurance, liability insurance, and other insurance products, to meet the needs of the customers. It was one of the fastest growing insurers among private non-life insurers by gross written premium (GWP) in fiscal 2022, as per RedSeer report mentioned in the DRHP.

ICICI Securities Limited, Morgan Stanley India Company Private Limited, Axis Capital Limited, Edelweiss Financial Services Limited, HDFC Bank Limited, and IIFL Securities Limited are the book running lead managers and Link Intime India Private Limited is the registrar to the offer. The equity shares are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.

Apart from Go Digit, the SEBI has also given approval to Denta Water and Infra Solutions and KRN Heat Exchanger and Refrigeration to go ahead with the IPO plans.

Bengaluru-based Denta Water and Infra Solutions Limited, a seasoned player in the field of water engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, filed preliminary IPO papers on December 11, 2023. The IPO, with a face value of ₹10, is entirely a fresh issue of up to 0.75 crore equity shares with no offer for sale (OFS) component. The proceeds from the fresh issue, to the extent of ₹150 crore, will be used to meet working capital requirements.

On the other hand, Rajasthan-based KRN Heat Exchanger submitted DRHP with the SEBI in January this year. The issue is completely a fresh issue of 1.93 crore equity shares with no OFS component. The company, which manufactures fin and tube type heat exchangers for the heat ventilation air conditioning and refrigeration industry, plans to use the proceeds for setting up a manufacturing facility at Alwar in Rajasthan as well as to meet general corporate purposes.