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IPO letter on wood block cubes on wooden table over modern office city tower, street, expressway and skyscraper, Initial public offering concept. Image used for illustrative purpose. Getty Images
Walmart-backed Indian digital payments company PhonePe said it has started preparing for a domestic IPO, without giving details on the size and timing.
"PhonePe's strong top-line and bottom-line growth across its diverse business portfolio, as detailed in its FY2023–2024 annual report, makes this a suitable time to prepare for a public listing," the company said in a statement.
Market participants said the IPO size would be at least US$1bn. The IPO syndicate is yet to be finalised.
PhonePe, which was founded in 2016, reported profit after tax (but before the cost of employee stock options) of Rs1.97bn for the financial year that ended in March, compared with a net loss of Rs7.38bn a year earlier. Revenue rose 85% to Rs57.3bn from Rs30.9bn.
The company moved its domicile to India from Singapore in October 2022 to enable a local listing.
Paytm, officially called One 97 Communications, and One MobiKwik Systems are the other listed digital payments providers in India.
Paytm shares ended at Rs755.55 on Thursday compared with the 2021 IPO price of Rs2,150. One MobiKwik closed at Rs322.70 as against the 2024 IPO price of Rs279.
Source: IFR
