PhonePe Puts IPO On Hold Citing Global Conflicts And Market Turbulence

PhonePe has delayed its IPO plans due to geopolitical tensions and market volatility

UPI payments platform PhonePe on March 16 said it has temporarily deferred its plans to go public, citing ongoing geopolitical tensions and heightened volatility in global financial markets.

“We sincerely hope for a swift return to peace in all the affected regions. We remain committed to a public listing in India," founder and CEO Sameer Nigam said in a statement.

The Walmart-backed fintech firm added that it plans to resume the IPO process once global capital markets stabilise.

The decision comes at a time when global markets have been rattled by the escalating US–Israel conflict with Iran, which has increased uncertainty and dampened investor appetite for large public offerings. According to a source familiar with the matter, the planned $1.3 billion IPO, which would value the company at around $15 billion, requires deeper liquidity than the current market conditions offer.

PhonePe had received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its initial public offering on January 20. The Bengaluru-based company was planning to raise about Rs 12,000 crore (around $1.35 billion) through a pure offer for sale (OFS), Moneycontrol had earlier reported.

Among the largest new-age IPOs

If completed as planned, the listing could have become the second-largest new-economy IPO in India after Paytm’s 2021 public offering, which valued the company at roughly $20 billion and raised around Rs 18,000 crore.

Dominant player in the UPI ecosystem

PhonePe currently holds around 45 per cent of India’s UPI payments market, ahead of rival Google Pay, which has about 35 per cent. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform accounts for more than 85 percent of India’s digital payments.

The company processes nearly 10 billion transactions every month, with a total value exceeding Rs 12 lakh crore.

Beyond payments, PhonePe has also expanded into multiple financial services verticals. These include its stock trading platform Share.Market, lending products, and the distribution of insurance policies, as it seeks to build a broader digital financial services ecosystem.