General Atlantic increases stake in PhonePe to 9% with $600 Mn secondary

General Atlantic has invested about $600 million in PhonePe through a secondary transaction, according to two people aware of the matter. The deal appears to be one of the largest secondary transactions in India’s startup ecosystem this year.

“The transaction was executed to help employees exercise their ESOPs and meet tax obligations related to the same,” said one of the sources, requesting anonymity. “No liquidity was provided to any employees or founders as part of this deal.”

PhonePe’s last equity round concluded in May 2023, when General Atlantic infused $100 million, as part of the company’s broader fundraising efforts that valued the fintech major at over $12 billion.

ET reported the development first.

As per sources, the investment has increased General Atlantic’s stake in PhonePe to around 9% from the earlier 4.4%.

PhonePe and General Atlantic declined to comment on the story.

The Walmart-owned company has been preparing for its public listing, having recently filed a confidential draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for a Rs 12,000 crore IPO. As per media reports, the issue will be a pure OFS (offer for sale) in which Walmart, Microsoft, and Tiger Global will dilute their holdings.

PhonePe reported Rs 7,115 crore in revenue and Rs 630 crore adjusted profit after tax (PAT) in FY25. According to NPCI data, PhonePe held a 45.64% share of the digital payments market by volume and 48.38% by value as of September.