Fairfax-backed Go Digit gets Sebi's nod to launch IPO

New Delhi: Go Digit General Insurance Ltd, a firm backed by Canada-based Fairfax Group, has received Sebi's go-ahead to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO), an update with the regulator showed on Monday. The approval came after the company's preliminary IPO papers were first filed in August 2022.

Go Digit's proposed IPO comprises fresh issuance of shares worth Rs1,250 crore and an Offer For Sale (OFS) of 10.94 crore shares by promoter Go Digit Infoworks Services and existing shareholders, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). Proceeds from the fresh issuance would be utilised for the augmentation of the company's capital base and maintenance of solvency levels and for general corporate purposes. Cricketer Virat Kohli and his wife and actor Anushka Sharma are among the investors in the firm.

According to an update with the Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) on Monday, the regulator gave its observation on March 1. In Sebi's parlance, obtaining observation letter means the regulator's go- ahead to launch the public issue. The company had first filed the DRHP with Sebi in August 2022 to raise funds through an initial share sale. However, it was thwarted primarily due to certain compliance requirements pertaining to the employee stock appreciation rights scheme.

Sebi returned Go Digit's draft IPO papers on January 30, 2023 and asked the company to refile the documents with certain updates. Following this, the company again filed the preliminary IPO papers with Sebi in April 2023. Go Digit offers motor insurance, health insurance, travel insurance, property insurance, marine insurance, liability insurance, and other insurance products, to meet the needs of customers. 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.

Apart from Go Digit, Denta Water and Infra Solutions Ltd and KRN Heat Exchanger and Refrigeration Ltd have received Sebi's nod to launch their maiden public issues. These two firms filed draft IPO papers with Sebi between December 2023 and January 2024. Denta Water and Infra Solutions' IPO is entirely a fresh issue of up to 75 lakh equity shares with no offer for sale (OFS) component. Proceeds from the fresh issue to the tune of Rs 150 crore will be used to meet working capital requirements. The initial share sale of KRN Heat Exchanger is purely a fresh issue of 1.93 crore equity shares with no OFS component. Funds will be used for investment in wholly-owned subsidiary KRN HVAC Products for setting up a new manufacturing facility at Neemrana, Alwar, in Rajasthan. Shares of these three companies will be listed on BSE and NSE.