PhonePe to file confidential IPO papers by September 2025
IPO expected in early 2026 on Indian exchanges
Target fundraise is likely to be $1.5 billion
Walmart-owned fintech start-up, PhonePe is reportedly planning to file its IPO papers via the confidential route by the end of September 2025, according to a report published by MoneyControl. The fintech is expected to launch its IPO on Indian bourses by early 2026.
The platform aims to raise around $1.5 billion through the initial public offering. The public issue is expected to value PhonePe at around $10 billion to $12 billion, the report said.
The IPO will comprise both new shares issuance and an offer for sale (OFS). Of $1.5 billion, about 10% of the company’s equity will be offered for sale in the IPO. While majority shareholder Walmart is expected to retain most of its holding, investors like Tiger Global and General Atlantic may leverage the listing for partial exit, the report added.
Earlier reports confirmed that the Walmart-owned firm has appointed advisers, including Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan, Citi, and Morgan Stanley for the IPO.
In April, PhonePe formally changed its name from “PhonePe Private Limited” to “PhonePe Limited” following approval at a general meeting—an important legal step for companies planning to list on Indian stock exchanges.
As per regulations, this change must be approved by the Central Processing Centre of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), which issues a fresh Certificate of Incorporation upon approval.
PhonePe Tops UPI in July
PhonePe led the UPI market in July with about 8.93 billion transactions, followed by Google Pay's 6.92 billion and Paytm's 1.36 billion, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). In terms of value, PhonePe processed ₹12.20 trillion, followed by Google Pay at ₹8.91 trillion and Paytm at ₹1.43 trillion.
In July, PhonePe commanded over 45% of UPI transactions by volume, with Google Pay close behind at 35.56%. Paytm accounted for 7.02% of the market, the data revealed.
PhonePe was founded in December 2015 as a Flipkart subsidiary. It saw its ownership shift after Walmart's investment in Flipkart. In December 2020, Walmart restructured the group, making PhonePe its direct subsidiary and formally separating it from the e-commerce major.
In FY24, PhonePe narrowed its loss to ₹1,996 crore from ₹2,795 crore in FY23, even as its share-based payment expenses rose during the period. During the same year, the company witnessed around 74% increase in revenue to ₹5,064 crore, as compared to ₹2,914 crore in the previous year.
Not counting its employee stock option (ESOP) expenses, the company logged an 'Adjusted profit after tax' of ₹197 crore for the first time, its annual report showed.
The fintech’s valuation stood at $12 billion till its last fundraising round conducted in 2023. As per reports, PhonePe had around 53 crore registered users and 20 crore monthly active customers as of March 2024. Additionally, PhonePe also reported processing over 770 crore transactions per month with a total value of ₹10.5 lakh crore.
The fintech has not yet released its financials for the fiscal year 2025.
