Tiger Global and Microsoft prepared for a full exit as PhonePe updated its IPO papers

Tiger Global and Microsoft are set to exit PhonePe entirely as the Walmart-backed digital payments giant moves closer to a blockbuster public listing. This provides a clear snapshot of how global investors are making money from bets made during India’s FinTech boom.

Bengaluru-based PhonePe has filed an updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) with market regulator SEBI after receiving clearance for its confidential filing earlier this week. The IPO will consist of a pure offer-for-sale (OFS) of 5.06 crore shares, with no new issue component, meaning all proceeds will go to the selling shareholders.

Promoter WM Digital Commerce Holdings – owned by Walmart International Holdings Inc – will sell 4.59 crore shares, or about 9.06% of PhonePe’s paid-up equity, while retaining a clear majority stake. The remaining 47.17 lakh shares will be sold by Tiger Global PIP 9-1 and Microsoft Global Finance Unlimited Company, an Irish subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation. Both investors are leaving the company completely via the IPO.

In total, up to 50.66 million shares will be offered, marking a significant liquidity event for early and late-stage investors. General Atlantic Singapore PPIL, which invested in a secondary transaction in 2023, remains the largest public shareholder with an 8.98% stake, followed by Headstand with 5.73%.

Founded in 2015 by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari and Burzin Engineer, PhonePe was acquired by Flipkart a year later and has since grown into India’s largest digital payments platform. While payments remain its core business, the company has expanded into stock broking, mutual funds, insurance distribution, lending and even an Android app marketplace positioned as an alternative to Google Play.

PhonePe continues to dominate the UPI ecosystem in terms of transaction volumes and stays ahead of Google Pay. As of December 2025, it processed 9.81 billion transactions worth ₹13.6 trillion, compared to Google Pay’s 7.50 billion transactions worth ₹9.6 trillion, according to NPCI data.

Financially, the company reported a 40% year-on-year increase in operating revenues to ₹7,115 crore in FY25, while net losses narrowed to ₹1,727 crore from ₹1,996 crore a year earlier. In H1FY26, revenue was ₹3,918 crore with losses of ₹1,442 crore.

PhonePe was last valued at around $12 billion in a January 2023 funding round and is targeting a higher valuation at its IPO, underscoring investor confidence in its size, market leadership and growing financial services business.

Published on January 22, 2026