Summary of this article
PhonePe has filed an updated DRHP with Sebi
PhonePe IPO consists pure offer-for-sale of 50.66 million shares
PhonePe has filed an updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for its initial public offering (IPO). In the awaited IPO, the company will raise funds entirely through an offer for sale (OFS).
Here’s a look at some key details of the public issue of the digital payments platform:
PhonePe IPO: Offer Size
PhonePe’s public issue would be a pure OFS with 50.66 million equity shares with a face value of Rs. 1 each offered. The IPO will not have any fresh issuance of shares. In the IPO, Walmart, which holds shares through its unit WM Digital Commerce Holdings, is planning to sell up to 45.9 million shares to cut around 9 per cent of its stake in the company. Meanwhile, Microsoft Global Finance Unlimited Company and Tiger Global PIP 9-1 Ltd will sell their entire stake in the company.
The price band for PhonePe IPO has not been announced yet. Tentatively, the company is planning to raise around Rs. 12,000 crore from the public issue, a report by Moneycontrol said prior to the filing of the updated DRHP.
The book running lead managers are Kotak Mahindra Capital, J.P. Morgan India, Citigroup Global Markets India, Morgan Stanley India, Axis Capital, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, Jefferies India, and JM Financial. The registrar for the public issue is KFin Technologies.
PhonePe IPO: Subscription Window, Allotment Date, Listing Date
Details such as price band and time of the offering were not disclosed by the company. These details should be finalised closer to the issue. The issue will follow a book-building process and tap the interest through investor marketing.
PhonePe IPO: Key Financials
For the period of six months ended September 30, 2025, PhonePe posted a total income of Rs 4,174.51 crore, while its revenue from operations for the period stood at Rs 3,918.47 crore, a rise of 22 per cent from a year ago. The company made a loss after tax of Rs. 1,444.42 crore during the six-month period, widening from a loss of Rs. 1,203.21 in the corresponding period a year before.
PhonePe also made a loss after tax to the tune of Rs. 1,727.41 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2025. The loss after tax narrowed slightly from Rs. 1,996.17 crore in FY24. In FY25, the company earned Rs. 7,114.86 crore from revenue from operations.
PhonePe IPO: Business Model
PhonePe is a fintech company operating primarily through its digital payments platform. Alongside payment services, the company also offers digital distribution services and financial services. The company claims to be India’s largest payments platform, with Rs. 8.51 lakh crore in total payments value of merchant transactions and Rs. 73.70 lakh crore in customers' total payments value by the end of September. As of the end of September, the company had a life-to-date registered user base of 657.56 million.
PhonePe IPO: Competitors
Primary competitors of PhonePe in the digital payments segment include Google Pay, Paytm, and Amazon Pay, all of which offer UPI services and other financial services. BharatPe, MobiKwik, Freecharge, CRED, and the government's BHIM app are also key players in the segment. Among international payment aggregators, Stripe, PayPal, and Razorpay also compete with PhonePe in the merchant or business solutions segment.
Among these competitors, One97 Communications, which operated Paytm, is the only company listed in Indian exchanges.
PhonePe IPO: Should You Apply?
Here’s a look at the strengths and risks mentioned by the digital payments platform provider, which investors must consider before applying for the public issue:
Key Risks
Here’s a look at some of the key risks related to PhonePe’s business according to the company’s updated DRHP:
A significant portion of the business is concentrated in the consumer business. Any risks which affect consumer payments could affect PhonePe’s business, operations and cash flow.
The company’s revenue in the consumer payments segment is primarily earned through transaction processing fees and consumer platform fees. Any risks to the consumer payments business could also impact the company’s revenue model.
The company also stated that seven of the company's subsidiaries incurred losses and eight of the company’s subsidiaries had negative cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities during the six months ended September 30, 2025.
The company also operates in a segment with significant competition. This also poses a risk to the company's market share as a payments aggregator.
Key Strengths
Here’s a look at some of the key strengths of PhonePe according to the company’s updated DRHP:
The company is the market leader in the consumer payment services segment. This is a key strength for the company.
PhonePe has also aimed to diversify its business in insurance, mutual funds, and stockbroking.
PhonePe has also shown penetration in tier-2 cities. It also has a brand name which resonates with users, with around 156.00 million active users seen daily during the six months ended September 30.
PhonePe IPO: Objective
PhonePe will not receive any proceeds from the public issue since it only includes an offer for sale option, and all the offer proceeds will go to the promoter selling shareholder after deduction of public issue-related expenses and relevant taxes.
