Walmart-backed PhonePe shelves IPO as global tensions rattle markets

PhonePe, the leading digital payments platform in India, has decided to pause its initial public offering (IPO) plans due to increasing geopolitical tensions and instability in the stock market. The Bengaluru-based firm announced this decision on Monday, emphasizing its intent to revisit the IPO when market conditions become more favorable. This development occurs shortly after PhonePe submitted an updated prospectus for its IPO, aiming for a listing on Indian stock exchanges later this year. The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East have unsettled global markets, leading to a surge in oil prices and prompting investors to withdraw from the stock exchanges. India's main equity indices, the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex, have each seen declines of approximately 9% over the past month, with numerous Indian stocks facing double-digit drops since the escalation of conflict on February 28. Initially valued at around $12 billion in January 2023, PhonePe had anticipated a market cap of about $15 billion from its IPO, which could have raised up to $1.5 billion. However, sources close to the situation revealed that investment bankers suggested that the company consider a lower valuation of roughly $9 billion. In response to speculation that the IPO was postponed due to valuation issues, PhonePe firmly stated that this claim is unfounded. A company representative clarified, "Our decision to pause the process is solely based on current market conditions, which are unrelated to PhonePe." The IPO was projected to provide an exit strategy for several early investors, including Tiger Global and Microsoft, who planned to sell their entire stakes. Additionally, Walmart, the majority owner, intended to offload up to 45.9 million shares, accounting for approximately 9% of the company while maintaining control. Founded in 2015 by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari, and Burzin Engineer, PhonePe was acquired by Flipkart a year later and has since evolved into India's dominant digital payments platform. It leads the government-backed Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem in transaction volumes, outpacing competitors like Google Pay. In February 2026, PhonePe processed around 9.3 billion transactions valued at ₹13.1 trillion (approximately $141.9 billion), significantly exceeding Google Pay's 6.8 billion transactions worth about ₹9 trillion (around $97.8 billion), based on data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). After being spun off into its own entity in 2022, PhonePe has expanded its offerings beyond digital payments, venturing into financial services like stockbroking and mutual fund investments, along with launching an Android app store as an alternative to Google’s Play Store. According to its prospectus, PhonePe reported a 22% increase in revenue from operations to ₹39.19 billion (approximately $424.4 million) for the six months ending September 2025. However, the company’s losses also widened to ₹14.44 billion (around $156.4 million), up from ₹12.03 billion (about $130.4 million) a year earlier, as it continues investing in service expansion.