Tiger Global, Microsoft to fully exit Walmart-backed PhonePe via its IPO

Tiger Global and Microsoft are preparing to fully divest their stakes in PhonePe, the Indian payments startup backed by Walmart, as the company updates its IPO filing. This move provides investors and market analysts with a unique insight into how global investors are capitalizing on the venture boom in India’s public markets. In a recent update to its IPO prospectus, PhonePe revealed the number of shares available for purchase. While Tiger Global and Microsoft are set to sell their entire stakes, Walmart has opted to maintain its majority ownership and will sell up to 45.9 million shares, which constitutes approximately 9% of the company. The total shares up for sale could reach 50.66 million, marking a significant liquidity event for existing shareholders. Initially valued at around $12 billion during a funding round in January 2023, PhonePe is now aiming for a market capitalization of approximately $15 billion through its IPO, potentially raising up to $1.5 billion, according to sources familiar with the situation. Notably, the share sale will not involve any sell-downs from the founders. The updated prospectus indicates that this initiative is being driven by existing investors rather than the management of PhonePe itself. Founded in 2015 by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari, and Burzin Engineer, PhonePe was acquired by e-commerce leader Flipkart the following year and has since evolved into one of India's leading fintech firms. Starting with digital payments, PhonePe has diversified its offerings to include stockbroking, mutual fund investments, and even an alternative Android app store to the Google Play Store. Currently, it holds the top position in India's digital payments landscape, leading the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem in transaction volume, surpassing competitors like Google Pay. By December 2025, PhonePe processed approximately 9.81 billion transactions worth around ₹13.6 trillion (about $148.6 billion), compared to Google Pay’s 7.50 billion transactions totaling roughly ₹9.6 trillion (around $104.5 billion), as per the latest data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). PhonePe was spun off from Flipkart following a partial split in December 2020, with the separation completed by December 2022. Walmart continues to be the dominant shareholder in the fintech entity. For the six months ending in September 2025, PhonePe reported a 22% increase in operational revenue, totaling ₹39.19 billion (approximately $427.79 million), despite a widening loss of ₹14.44 billion (around $157.70 million) from ₹12.03 billion (about $131.34 million) the previous year, as outlined in the prospectus.