The Fintech Business PayU is Being Considered for IPO by Prosus in 2025

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Nov 15, 2024 — 2 min read

Prosus Considers 2025 IPO for Fintech Firm PayU

According to a November 13 media report, Prosus, which recently saw a healthy return on its investment in Swiggy at the food delivery startup's initial public offering (IPO), plans to list PayU, its payments and fintech business in India, in 2025. Ervin Tu, the group chief investment officer for Prosus, was quoted in the report as saying that the listing might occur at a valuation between $5 billion and $7 billion.

A renowned media outlet reports that UBS just increased PayU's valuation from $3.7 billion to $4.2 billion, citing improved trading multiples in the global payments market. Listed in Amsterdam and a member of South Africa's Naspers, Prosus is regarded as one of the largest long-term technology investors globally.

PayU Was Planned to Get Listed in 2023

Since late 2023, PayU had planned to go public at a valuation of $5 billion to $7 billion. It was permitted to function as a payment aggregator in April after just escaping a 15-month regulatory prohibition on hiring new merchants. For its primary payments function, it faces competition from companies like Walmart-owned PhonePe and Tiger Global-backed Razorpay. PayU also helps small enterprises and consumers get loans.

Rapid Expansion of India’s Digital Payment Market is Attracting Investors

According to Prosus' 2024 annual report, retail digital transactions in India, one of the world's fastest-growing digital payments markets, grew 44% year over year in FY24, while payment volume rose 20%.

India is a "pillar" of the Dutch investor's strategy, according to Tu. "We have great optimism about the future for India and for us."

His remarks follow the successful market debut of Swiggy, another portfolio business, on November 13. Prosus, which still owns a 25% share in the food and grocery delivery company, claimed in a statement that it had made $2 billion from its investment. Fabricio Bloisi, the CEO of Prosus, stated last month that he anticipates more of the companies in his Indian portfolio going public within the next 12 to 18 months. Among other Indian businesses, it owns shares in Meesho, an online marketplace, and Urban Company, a home services provider.

Sriharsha Majety, the founder and group CEO of Swiggy, stated on the sidelines of the company's successful initial public offering (IPO) that the Prosus team has been a crucial part of Swiggy's path to reach this milestone, helping the business at every turn since it started working with it in 2017. Their steadfast faith in Swiggy's mission has been essential to the company's success in the quick commerce sector as well as its food and 1P delivery platforms. Swiggy has learnt a lot and garnered useful insights from Prosus' vast global exposure to the food industry. Swiggy looks forward to strengthening its partnership and leveraging Prosus' global insights and industry expertise as it continues to develop, expand, and change as a publicly traded company.