SoftBank picks banks for US IPO of payments app PayPay: sources

SoftBank has selected Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Mizuho Financial Group, and Morgan Stanley to help organize a potential initial public offering (IPO) in the US for PayPay, its Japanese payments app operator, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The IPO could raise over US$2 billion and may happen as soon as the last quarter of 2025, though timing and the fundraising amount will depend on market conditions, the sources said.

PayPay, which is majority-owned by several SoftBank entities including its wireless carrier, Vision Fund, and LY Corp—a joint venture between SoftBank and Naver Corp—offers mobile payments and financial services such as banking and credit cards in Japan.

If completed, this would be SoftBank’s first US listing of a majority investment since Arm Holdings’ IPO in 2023.

SoftBank and the involved banks declined to comment.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ SoftBank’s IPO track record shows mixed market reception despite large scale

SoftBank has experience executing massive public offerings, but investor reception has been challenging.

The company’s 2018 mobile unit IPO raised $23.5 billion, making it the second-largest stock market listing in history at the time and Japan’s largest ever 1.

However, shares fell 15% on the first trading day, reflecting investor skepticism about the mobile sector’s competitive landscape 2.

This suggests that while SoftBank can successfully execute large-scale IPOs, market reception often depends on investor confidence in the specific business fundamentals rather than just the company’s overall scale.

The PayPay offering’s success will likely hinge on demonstrating clear growth metrics and market position rather than relying solely on SoftBank’s IPO execution capabilities.

2️⃣ PayPay’s timing aligns with Japan’s accelerating digital payments transformation

Japan’s mobile payments market is experiencing significant growth, providing strong tailwinds for PayPay’s IPO timing.

The market is projected to grow from $0.28 trillion in 2025 to $1.07 trillion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 31.04% 3.