Policybazaar shares plunge over 10% after company’s chairman plans to sell around 3.8 million shares via bulk deals

PB Fintech (Policybazaar), an online insurance and loan marketplace company, shares plummeted almost 10.5 per cent to Rs 590.1 per share on the BSE intraday after the firm’s chairman and CEO Yashish Dahiya announced to sell up to 3.77 million equity shares through an open market. 

According to PB Fintech exchange filing, “The Company has received an intimation from Mr. Yashish Dahiya, Chairman and CEO of the Company, for an intention to sell up to 3,769,471 equity shares via bulk deals on the stock exchanges.” 

As of March 31, 2022, the aggregate shareholding of Yashish Dahiya stood at 19 million (4.23 per cent), and post-exercise of 5.5 million ESOPs during May 2022 his aggregate shareholding increased to 24.52 million (5.45 per cent).  

As the ESOPs are subject to payment of taxes on exercise in addition to the payment of capital gain tax on the sale of shares, the proceeds from the sale of the 3.77 million shares are proposed to be used to make the payment of current and future taxes, the company said.  

In February, the co-founder of the company Alok Bansal had sold 2.85 million shares of PB Fintech for Rs 236 crore through an open market transaction. He had sold shares at an average price of Rs 825 apiece, according to the NSE bulk deal data. 

At around 11:06 am, the stock was trading nearly 10 per cent lower at Rs 593.3 per share, as against a 1.13 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. The counter had hit a record low of Rs 542.30 on May 12, 2022. 

The stock in the last six months has underperformed the market as its share price halved or has declined by 50 per cent as compared to 4.5 per cent drop in the S&P BSE Sensex. The stock has corrected 60 per cent from its all-time high of Rs 1,470 hit on November 17, 2021.