PayU plans to raise up to $300 million through a minority stake sale
Early-stage fundraising, structured with HSBC’s support
Aims to assess investor demand and set valuation ahead of a 2026 IPO
Prosus-backed payments company, PayU is planning the sale of a minority stake to raise $300 million, according to a report published by MoneyControl. Currently, the fintech platform is in the early stages of fundraising process.
The report stated that PayU is working with investment bank HSBC to structure the deal, which is expected to help assess investor appetite and establish a valuation reference ahead of its planned IPO (initial public offering) on Indian bourses. The fintech is likely to launch its IPO in 2026.
“PayU is looking to raise approximately $250-300 million to diversify its shareholder base and strengthen its market position as it gears up for its IPO. The company has recently strengthened the board to reinforce governance and is taking additional steps to support sustainable growth,” sources told the news publication.
Prosus continues to hold major stake in PayU, and recently injected $35 million into its credit division while supporting the Mindgate investment and highlighting its strong belief in India’s fintech potential.
PayU FY25 Financials
Founded in 2002 and spun out of Ibibo in 2014 under the leadership of co‑founders Nitin Gupta and Shailaz Nag, PayU India operates two primary segments: payment gateways and digital financing. The payments division, which reached profitability in the second half of FY 2025, saw a 12% year‑on‑year sales increase to $498 million.
The credit vertical delivered even stronger growth, with revenue rising 60–63% to $171 million and loan disbursements totalling $1.1 billion in FY 2025, growing its loan book to $558 million by year‑end.
Despite these gains, PayU's adjusted EBIT (aEBIT) widened to $44 million in FY 2025 from $32 million in FY 2024, driven in part by higher financial leverage and elevated loss rates in its consumer loan portfolio.
To address this, the company has tightened underwriting criteria, shifte dfocus toward partnerships and SMB lending at checkout, and leveraged the RBI's April 2024 approval to resume merchant onboarding and operate as a regulated payment aggregator, actions that added some 13,000 new merchants in FY 2025.
In April, PayU received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator, enabling the digital financial services provider to onboard new merchants following the in-principle approval.
This decision follows the RBI's heightened scrutiny of the payments sector, requiring online payment companies to monitor merchants' transaction-related activities and ensure compliance with updated guidelines.
