Walmart-backed payments major PhonePe gets Sebi approval for IPO

Sebi approval comes months after PhonePe confidentially filed its draft papers for the listing, aiming to raise up to ₹12,000 crore, according to a Business Standard report from September 2025

Payments major PhonePe has received regulatory clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for its proposed initial public offering (IPO), Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

 

The report added that Walmart, Microsoft and Tiger Global are expected to partially divest their holdings in the offering. Some other investors in the company include General Atlantic, Ribbit Capital, TVS Capital, Tencent, Qatar Investment Authority, according to Tracxn data.

 

The approval comes months after PhonePe filed its draft papers with Sebi via the confidential pre-filing route, aiming to raise up to ₹12,000 crore, according to a Business Standard report from September 2025.

 

The confidential filing route allows companies to submit their draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) privately to Sebi, stock exchanges, and selectively market it to potential investors. Through this option, companies shield sensitive financial and strategic details from the larger public eye until they’re ready to file the red herring prospectus (RHP), which is the precursor to the launch of the IPO.

 

Founded in 2015, PhonePe is India’s largest player on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), commanding over 45 per cent market share by transaction volume as of December 2025. It processed 9.8 billion of the 21.6 billion UPI transactions recorded in August, data from the National Payments Corporation of India showed. The platform has over 600 million registered users and serves close to 50 million merchants, reported Reuters.

 

The fintech major recorded a revenue of ₹7,115 crore in the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), reflecting a 40 per cent year-on-year growth, according to regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies.

Busy IPO calendar

The past year (2025) also saw a buys IPO calendar for Indian markets, with the mainboard IPO launches crossing the century mark for the first time since 2007. IPO collections crossed ₹1.7 trillion, compared to the previous year's ₹1.59 trillion through 91 issues. Notable public issues in 2025 included Tata Capital, LG Electronics, Lenskart Solutions, and Groww parent BillionBrains Garage Ventures. 

 

This year, too, has a strong line-up of marquee names that are likely to hit the markets. Jio Platforms, Flipkart (which is also backed by Walmart), Zepto, and Oyo are among the big sector players that could take the public route to fundraising in 2026. Then there is the question of the Tata Sons' IPO, which is currently in the grey zone, having missed the Reserve Bank of India's deadline of September 30, 2025 for a public listing.