PhonePe IPO | Walmart-backed PhonePe appoints four merchant bankers for upcoming public issue: Report

PhonePe IPO: Digital payments giant PhonePe has appointed four merchant bankers—JP Morgan, Citi India, Morgan Stanley, and Kotak Mahindra Capital—to manage its initial public offering (IPO). According to a report by CNBC-TV18, the Walmart-backed Fintech major is preparing for a domestic listing. 

While the fintech major has not officially disclosed its fundraising target, a Moneycontrol report said PhonePe could be aiming to raise billions for a valuation of up to $15 billion. The IPO process is expected to begin in the first week of March.

PhonePe IPO details

Last week, Walmart-backed PhonePe announced that it has begun preparations for a public listing on the Indian stock market.

PhonePe’s valuation reached $12 billion in its most recent funding round conducted in 2023. “The company is commencing preparatory steps in connection with its potential IPO and plans to list on Indian exchanges. This marks a significant milestone for the company, which will celebrate its 10-year anniversary this year, and has grown to serve hundreds of millions of customers with innovative financial services and technology solutions,” PhonePe said in a statement.

In December 2022, PhonePe shifted its domicile from Singapore to India, incurring a tax payment of approximately ₹8,000 crore to the government.

In its annual report, the company stated that the decision was driven by its strong belief that, as a homegrown and highly regulated Indian fintech firm, it should eventually go public on Indian stock exchanges.

“Our investors, led by Walmart, paid almost ₹8,000 crore (close to $1 billion) in taxes to the Indian government to accept PhonePe’s domicile shift to India,” said PhonePe.

As of March 31, 2024, Walmart’s Luxembourg-based entity, FIT Holdings SARL, owned an 83.91 per cent stake in PhonePe. Meanwhile, General Atlantic Singapore held a 5.14 per cent stake, and PhonePe’s Singapore subsidiary had a 6.7 per cent ownership in the company.