PhonePe Defers $1Bn IPO Amid Global Market Volatility and West Asia Conflict

Payments platform PhonePe on Monday said it has temporarily halted its initial public offering (IPO) process due to ongoing geopolitical tensions and volatility in global capital markets.

“We sincerely hope for a swift return to peace in all the affected regions. We remain committed to a public listing in India,” PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam said. The Walmart-backed company added that it will resume the listing process once there is greater stability in global markets.

The ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran has reportedly unsettled global markets, making it difficult to garner sufficient liquidity for the planned $1 billion IPO.

PhonePe IPO

PhonePe had earlier planned to go public at a valuation of $9 billion to $10.5 billion (approximately ₹75,000 crore to ₹87,000 crore), aiming to raise about $1.05 billion through the sale of shares, as per a report by Press Trust of India. The Bengaluru-based fintech firm had also received approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India on January 20.

Even at the revised valuation, the IPO was expected to be the second-largest public issue in India after Paytm, which listed at a valuation of around $20 billion (approximately ₹1.4 lakh crore) in November 2021.

The proposed IPO is entirely an Offer-for-Sale (OFS), with existing investors, including Walmart, Tiger Global Management and Microsoft’s investment arm, planning to offload stakes worth around ₹10,115 crore (approximately $1.1 billion), according to updated draft papers.

PhonePe Financials

As per PhonePe’s Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP-I), the company reported revenue from operations of ₹71,148.59 million and total income of ₹76,313.83 million for FY2025.

Adjusted EBITDA stood at ₹14,771.93 million, translating into a margin of about 20.76%. However, the company continued to report a net loss of ₹17,274.10 million on a restated basis.

The filing also includes adjusted profit and loss figures and platform-level EBITDA break-ups, which the company uses to highlight improving underlying business economics despite continued GAAP losses. It cautions, however, that financial results for the six-month period ending September 30, 2025 should not be considered indicative of full-year performance.