Sebi returns Go Digit General Insurance IPO papers; Co to refile documents in due course

Markets regulator Sebi has returned the preliminary IPO papers of Go Digit General Insurance Ltd, a firm backed by Canada-based Fairfax Group, and now the company is looking to refile the documents with certain updates.

The company had filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in August 2022 to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO).

Go Digit’s proposed IPO comprises fresh issuance of equity shares worth Rs 1,250 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of 10.94 crore equity shares by a promoter and existing shareholders. In the OFS, Go Digit offers to sell 10,94,34,783 equity shares.

According to an update with Sebi on Tuesday, the markets regulator has returned the draft papers on January 30.

In a statement, the insurance company said the DRHP (Draft Red Herring Prospectus) has been returned in terms of Sebi’s ICDR (Issuance of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) rules, which exempts rights granted under employee stock option plans to subsist at the time of filing the draft prospectus, but does not similarly exempt employee stock appreciation rights. The company said it is currently evaluating amendments to its employee stock appreciation rights scheme and will refile its DRHP with Sebi in due course. Cricketer Virat Kohli and his wife and actor Anushka Sharma are among the investors in the firm.

Going by the draft papers, the proceeds from the fresh issuance have been proposed to be utilised for the augmentation of the company’s 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 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.