Foraying into India’s insurance sector, China’s Tencent has been able to acquire 10 per cent stake in Policybazaar, an online insurance provider, reported Mint, citing various sources.
According to sources, the deal has been set at $150 million after which the platform Policybazaar has been valued at around $1.5 billion.
Gurugram-based Policybazaar, was started in June 2008 by Yashish Dahiya, Alok Bansal and Avaneesh Nirjar. It is an online platform that aggregates insurance plans and serves as a marketplace for policies. It allows users to compare and buy life, health or auto insurance policies directly on its website, without any intermediaries.
Whereas, Tencent is based out of China, which has invested aggressively into the Indian startup ecosystem.
Also read: Tencent leads $110 million funding round in Times Internet-owned OTT platform MX Player
While, the investment into the online marketplace Policybazaar comes months after the Delhi High Court has imposed ₹10 lakh fine on Policybazaar for concealing facts to obtain an ex-parte injunction in a trademark infringement case filed by it against an insurance company.
For details: Delhi HC orders Policybazaar to pay ₹10 lakh fine for concealing facts
Furthermore, Insurance penetration was estimated to surpass 4% in 2017 and projected to quadruple over the next 10 years from $60 billion, according to the government’s Brand Equity Foundation.
Besides Tencent has been investing a lot into India startups including Ola, BYJU’s, Swiggy, NiYo Solutions and many more.