Paytm reportedly eyes India’s largest IPO: All that we know so far

Paytm's parent company, One97, is expected to formally approve the IPO in a board meeting on Friday (May 28).

Paytm is gearing itself for what could be the largest initial public offering in India. The digital payments giant is planning to raise as much as Rs 218 billion ($3 billion) from its speculated IPO, according to sources quoted in a report by Bloomberg. 

The Vijay Shankar Sharma-led startup is planning to go public in November 2021. The startup is backed by some of the largest investors in the world, including SoftBank Group, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Ant Group Co. The company is eyeing a valuation of around $25-$30 billion, the media publication reported. 

Paytm is currently one of the largest digital payments players in India. The firm’s parent company, One97, is expected to formally approve the IPO in a board meeting on Friday (May 28). 

If Paytm rakes in Rs 218 billion from its initial share sale, it’ll overtake Coal India Ltd.’s IPO, which gathered Rs 150 billion+ for the state-backed energy firm in India’s largest IPO to date. 

So far, banks such as Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have been shortlisted to help Paytm prepare itself for the public listing. However, Morgan Stanley reportedly appears to be the leading contender in the race. 

At present, several tech firms in India are going ahead with their IPO plans. Companies such as Nazara Technologies recently listed on the public exchanges in India while the likes of CarTrade are in the process. 

Several other firms such as MobiKwik, PhonePe, Zomato, Flipkart and Nykaa, among many others are reportedly planning to hit public markets late this year or next year.