Walmart-owned PhonePe has reportedly received Sebi’s approval to proceed with its IPO.
Market regulator Sebi cleared the IPO on January 20.
The offering is expected to be a pure offer for sale, with the fintech aiming to raise around ₹12,000 crore.
PhonePe IPO Gets Sebi Nod, Updated DRHP Expected in Few Days
In September last year, PhonePe submitted its DRHP through the confidential filing route. The Walmart-backed fintech was looking to list on Indian stock exchanges in early 2026
PhonePe
Summary
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About five months after filing for a public listing, Walmart-owned fintech firm PhonePe has reportedly received approval to proceed with its initial public offering. The company is now expected to file an updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) in the next few days.
Market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) approved PhonePe’s IPO on January 20, according to a report by Moneycontrol, citing sources. The offering is expected to be a pure offer for sale (OFS), with the company looking to raise around ₹12,000 crore ($1.35 billion).
The IPO is expected to value the company at around $15 billion.
In September last year, PhonePe submitted its DRHP through the confidential filing route. The Walmart-backed fintech was looking to list on Indian stock exchanges in early 2026.
At the time, it was reported that while Walmart is expected to remain the dominant shareholder, investors such as Tiger Global and General Atlantic may use the IPO for partial exits.
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According to data from Tracxn, Walmart currently owns a 73.6% stake in the firm. Founders Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari together hold 8.6%. Among institutional investors, Headstand owns 5.9%, followed by General Atlantic at 4.5%. Other notable investors include Three State Capital Advisors (1.1%), Qatar Investment Authority (1.0%), Microsoft (0.7%), Ribbit Capital (0.4%) and Tiger Global Management and TVS Capital Funds with 0.2% each.
Smaller stakes are also held by WCH Q3 2020 1 (0.1%) and Jadoff SPV 5 (less than 0.1%). The ESOP pool accounts for 0.2%, while other individuals collectively hold 3.5%, taking the total shareholding to 100%.
PhonePe has reportedly appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan, Citi and Morgan Stanley as advisers for the public issue.
In April, the company completed its transition from PhonePe Private Limited to PhonePe Limited, a mandatory step ahead of a stock market listing.
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In FY25, PhonePe saw its operating revenue climb over 40% to ₹7,114.8 crore, compared with ₹5,064.1 crore in the previous year. The company commands around 45% market share in UPI payments, ahead of Google Pay’s roughly 35%, in a platform that processes over 85% of India’s digital payments.
PhonePe handles nearly 10 billion transactions worth over ₹12 lakh crore each month and has expanded beyond payments into stock trading through Share.Market, as well as lending and insurance distribution.