Walmart-backed Flipkart has separated from fintech unicorn PhonePe as the latter plans a potential IPO in India next year.
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In 2016, Flipkart acquired PhonePe, which has become India’s largest digital payments platform, with more than 400 million registered users.
As part of the deal, existing Flipkart Singapore and PhonePe Singapore shareholders have bought shares directly in PhonePe India. Walmart will remain a majority shareholder in both companies.
Separating the two entities will provide value and create new opportunities for investors to participate in India’s tech ecosystem, the companies said in a joint statement.
“We are looking forward to the next phase of growth as we invest in new businesses – like insurance, wealth management and lending, while also enabling the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India,” said PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam.
The new development comes amid PhonePe’s reported plan to raise a new funding round led by General Atlantic at a valuation of over US$12 billion.
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In December 2020, Flipkart announced a partial spin off of PhonePe, also creating a customized ESOP program for PhonePe employees.
PhonePe recently launched Pulse, an interactive website that offers statistics and insights related to domestic digital payments carried out via its payments portal.
Editing by Thu Huong Le and Arpit Nayak
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