PhonePe has initiated the process for a public offering by confidentially filing draft papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).  

The company is reportedly looking to raise around Rs120bn ($1.35bn), though the filing does not confirm the final decision to launch an IPO. 

A spokesperson from PhonePe clarified the nature of the pre-filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus (PDRHP) with SEBI, Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), and National Stock Exchange (NSE), stated CNBC.  

The proposed offer-for-sale could result in Walmart, Tiger Global, and Microsoft selling approximately 10% of their stakes in PhonePe. 

Currently, Walmart is the majority stakeholder in PhonePe with an 83.9% share, and General Atlantic holds 5.14%.  

The transaction is being managed by a syndicate of banks, including Kotak Mahindra Capital, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan, with additional support from Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, Axis Capital, and JM Financial. 

The confidential pre-filing route selected by PhonePe allows the company to withhold details of its filing from the public until the launch of the issue.  

According to Reuters, a source indicated that PhonePe is aiming for a listing by mid-2026, following a valuation of $12bn in a capital raise from private markets in 2023. 

Founded in 2015, PhonePe is a dominant player in India’s unified payments interface (UPI) ecosystem, boasting over 45% market share by volume.  

In the last month, the platform processed 9.15 billion transactions out of the 20 billion on UPI, Reuters reported citing the National Payments Corporation of India.  

With over 600 million registered users, PhonePe provides payment solutions to more than 40 million merchants. 

Meanwhile, Pine Labs, another player in the Indian payments technology space, is expected to raise up to $700m through an IPO slated for later this year.  

The company, backed by Mastercard and PayPal Holdings, has already received regulatory approval after submitting a draft prospectus in June.