PhonePe pauses IPO as West Asia war roils markets

Mumbai: Walmart-backed PhonePe has paused its IPO amid volatility in the markets which have fallen by about 7% since the start of the West Asia conflict. In a statement on Monday, the fintech firm said that it will resume the listing process once there is some stability in global capital markets. “We sincerely hope for a swift return to peace in all the affected regions. We remain committed to a public listing in India,” said CEO Sameer Nigam. The delay of PhonePe’s targeted $1.3 billion IPO which was set to be the second biggest public issue to be floated by a startup after Paytm’s 2021 listing and a major liquidity event for its early backers probably underlines the broader risk of a temporary slowdown of the domestic IPO market which had been on a bull run last year. Many companies are pushing back fundraises amid the West Asia driven market volatility, TOI reported recently. PhonePe’s IPO is an offer for sale (OFS) issue; Tiger Global and Microsoft will completely exit the company while parent Walmart which holds about 72% stake in the firm is paring its stake by 10%. The first local business from Walmart’s stable to go public, PhonePe was initially planning an April listing on the bourses. PhonePe, last valued at $12 billion was understood to be eyeing a valuation of up to $15 billion in the IPO, a target which would have been difficult to achieve in the current market scenario. “Some near-term blips in primary market activity are natural given the volatility in secondary markets….companies are being more calibrated on timing but we are not seeing a structural pullback,” said Amit Ramchandani, MD & CEO, investment banking at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

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