Mumbai-based stock broker Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who is also part owner of Inditrade Capital, has bought a 50 per cent stake in Bimadirect, a Hyderabad-based online insurance policy aggregator and seller.

The deal was closed in January, Bandyopadhyay said, and is now awaiting regulatory approvals. He did not reveal the size of his investment, but sources placed the value of the venture at $7-8 million (₹47-54 crore).

Heady rise

The Indian insurance market is expected to reach $150 billion by 2020 and online insurance is projected to drive this growth. US-based entrepreneur Amit Pandey had started Bimadirect in 2011 to capture a slice of this market.

The company is now considering tying up with Amazon and Snapdeal to drive online sales while talks are also on to get customers from network provider MTS on board. The website has sold two lakh policies to date.

Bandyopadhyay is the former head of Reliance Money and a capital markets commentator. After leaving the Anil Ambani Group, he bought a 5 per cent stake in online broker Destimoney, which he has since exited.

His Juno Moneta Technologies Pvt Ltd has also invested ₹15 crore for a 50 per cent stake in Dining Plus, which issues cards that give customers discounted rates at over 3,000 merchant partners including restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and travel and entertainment firms.

Apart from his investment in financial services company Inditrade Capital, Bandyopadhyay said he is keen on investing in financial technology start-ups, particularly in the forex business.

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