Ahead of mega IPO, PhonePe converts to public entity

Entrackr · 1d

It’s worth noting that PhonePe was the first Indian company to shift its domicile from overseas (Singapore) to India. PhonePe, the digital payments platform aiming for a $15 billion valuation in its upcoming initial public offering, has converted from a private company to a public limited company. “The members are hereby informed that, as one of the prerequisites for the process of initial public offering, the company is required to convert into a public limited company under the Companies Act, 2013,” PhonePe said in a regulatory filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). The name of the company will be changed from “PhonePe Private Limited” to “PhonePe Limited.” Notably, PhonePe became the first Indian company to relocate its domicile from overseas (Singapore) to India. In 2022, the Walmart-controlled firm completed this reverse flip, paying over Rs 8,000 crore (around $1 billion) in taxes as part of the process. Media reports indicate that PhonePe plans to initiate its IPO process in the first week of March and has brought on board Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan, Citi, and Morgan Stanley as advisors. Led by Sameer Nigam, PhonePe last secured $100 million in December 2023 as part of a $1 billion funding round, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. Walmart remains the majority shareholder, while other notable investors include Microsoft, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, TVS Capital, Tencent, and the Qatar Investment Authority. PhonePe is the largest player in the UPI ecosystem, commanding over 47% of the market share by transaction volume. The company reported revenue of more than Rs 5,000 crore in FY24, while reducing losses by 28.6% to Rs 1,996 crore in the same period.