Kamal Ghorui
MUMBAI: PhonePe has secured go ahead from markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its initial public offering (IPO), said people aware of the matter. The Walmart-owned company is seeking to raise around Rs 12,000 crore ($1.3 billion) through an offer for sale (OFS). An OFS allows existing company shareholders to offload their stakes and exit their investments; no money goes into the firm’s coffers. PhonePe will file updated draft IPO papers with SEBI in the next few days, the people said. The company, last valued at $12 billion, plans to get listed on the bourses sometime in April, they added. PhonePe did not respond to queries. More startups are taking the IPO route to grow and give exit to investors amid a widening primary market which is enabling new age companies to go public. SaaS firm Amagi Media Labs and logistics player Shadowfax are among the first lot of startups that are set to debut on the exchanges this month. Big players such as Zepto and Oyo are in the IPO queue while Walmart’s other India business Flipkart is also gearing up for a listing this year. Even as domestic liquidity is boosting the IPO market, the broader markets have been choppy due to geopolitical tensions with many startups tempering their valuation targets. PhonePe competes with players such as Google Pay and Paytm in India’s growing fintech market where there is enough and more room to expand given that many people remain underbanked. People now are also more willing to adopt digital services. PhonePe, which completed separation from Flipkart in late 2022 and shifted base to India from Singapore has expanded beyond digital payments to cover insurance, wealth, lending and stockbroking over the years.
