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 aim to raise billions for a valuation of up to $15 billion. According to the report, the IPO process will begin in the first week of March. PhonePe, which redomiciled from Singapore to India in December 2022, has said it has established a clear corporate structure, with each of its new non-payment businesses as wholly owned subsidiaries.

Also Read: Upcoming IPO: PhonePe to list on Indian exchanges, prepares to raise funds via public issue

PhonePe IPO details

Last week, PhonePe announced that it had begun preparations for a public listing on the Indian stock market. In its most recent funding round, conducted in 2023, PhonePe's valuation reached $12 billion. In December 2022, when PhonePe shifted its domicile from Singapore to India, it incurred a tax payment of approximately ₹8,000 crore to the government.

Also Read: PhonePe’s Share.Market introduces Sheets to simplify the trading experience

"The company is commencing preparatory steps concerning 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. It has grown to serve hundreds of millions of customers with innovative financial services and technology solutions," PhonePe said in a statement last week.

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. PhonePe reported processing 770 crore monthly transactions, with a total transaction value of ₹10.5 lakh crore.

Also Read: Nervous about going public with 30% market-share cap looming: PhonePe’s Sameer Nigam

“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 the fintech major. 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.