Sebi puts Fairfax Group-backed Go Digit's IPO in 'abeyance'

Capital markets regulator Sebi has kept in "abeyance" the proposed initial share sale of Canada-based Fairfax Group-backed Go Digit General Insurance Ltd.

However, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) did not clarify further.

Go Digit had filed preliminary IPO papers with the capital markets regulator on August 17.

Cricketer Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma are among the investors in the firm.

Going by the draft papers, the company's proposed initial public offering (IPO) comprised fresh issuance of equity shares worth Rs 1,250 crore and an offer for sale of 10.94 crore equity shares by a promoter and existing shareholders.

Proceeds from the fresh issuance were to be utilised for the augmentation of the company's capital base and maintenance of solvency levels and general corporate purposes.

Without disclosing the reason, Sebi said "issuance of observations (has been) kept in abeyance" with regard to the IPO of Go Digit, an update on the regulator's website showed on Monday. The information was updated on September 16.

The issuance of observations by Sebi implies its go-ahead for an IPO and the regulator usually gives its observations on IPO papers in 30 days.

Go Digit offers motor insurance, health insurance, travel insurance, property insurance, marine insurance, liability insurance, and other insurance products.

It is one of the first non-life insurers in India to be fully operated on the cloud and has developed application programming interface (API) integrations with several channel partners.

The Bengaluru-based company has a track record of delivering growth with Gross Written Premium (GWP) at Rs 5,268 crore, Rs 3,243 crore and Rs 2,252 crore in financial years 2022, 2021, and 2020, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53 per cent from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2022.

ICICI Securities, Morgan Stanley India Company, Axis Capital, Edelweiss Financial Services, HDFC Bank, and IIFL Securities are the book running lead managers to the issue.

Last month, private sector lender HDFC Bank announced that it will pick up 9.94 per cent stake in Go Digit.