Pine Labs Eyes ₹6,000 Cr IPO at $5 Bn Valuation, All Set for A Public Leap?

Will 2025 be the year of big-ticket startup IPOs in India? As investor appetite returns and public markets show signs of promise, fintech giant Pine Labs is gearing up to join the league of India’s most anticipated listings.

After years of speculation, strategic pivots, and multiple funding rounds, merchant-payments and digital lending platform Pine Labs is finally stepping closer to its public debut. According to a report by The Economic Times, the Noida-headquartered startup is expected to file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI by the end of this month, eyeing an IPO in the ₹5,000–6,000 crore range.

This move could value the fintech unicorn between $4 to $5 billion, closely aligning with its most recent private valuation.

Banking on the Future: High-Profile Investment Banks Onboard

To facilitate the listing, Pine Labs has roped in some of the biggest names in the global financial world: Axis Capital, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citi, and Jefferies. These financial powerhouses are expected to steer the company’s IPO journey, likely slated for the end of 2024—though market conditions will have the final say.

An anonymous source quoted by ET stated, “The plan is to file the DRHP by June-end and target the IPO towards the end of the year, depending on market conditions.”

This will mark a significant milestone in the company's evolution—from a point-of-sale (PoS) service provider to a full-fledged merchant commerce platform offering embedded finance, BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later), and more.

A Long Road to Listing: From Singapore to India

Interestingly, this isn’t Pine Labs’ first flirtation with the public markets. Back in 2022, the company filed confidential IPO papers with the US SEC, signaling an international listing. But the plan was later shelved amid market volatility and shifting global investor sentiment.

What followed was a strategic reversal.

In a clear move to double down on the Indian growth story, Pine Labs shifted its domicile from Singapore to India. The much-talked-about “reverse flip” was completed on April 9, 2024, after securing approval from the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) Chandigarh bench. The company also transitioned into a public limited entity, appointing independent directors to its board—another strong indicator that its IPO ambitions are now in full swing.

How the Numbers Stack Up

When it comes to investor backing, Pine Labs has been one of the most well-capitalized players in the Indian fintech space. According to data from TheKredible, the startup has raised a whopping $1.3 billion from marquee investors such as:

• Peak XV Partners

• Temasek

• PayPal

• Mastercard, and others.

The current private valuation stands at $5 billion, putting it in the elite club of India’s top-valued fintech unicorns.

Financially, the company’s revenue has shown steady growth. For the fiscal year ending March 2024, Pine Labs clocked ₹1,317 crore in operating revenue, registering a 2.8% increase year-on-year.

However, the road hasn't been entirely smooth.

Losses have significantly widened, with the company reporting a ₹187 crore net loss, which is three times higher than the previous year’s losses. While this may raise eyebrows, it is not uncommon for fintech startups prepping for IPOs to go into aggressive investment mode, often sacrificing short-term profitability for long-term market capture.

Pine Labs has not yet disclosed its FY25 financials, which could offer further insight into how IPO-ready its balance sheet really is.

IPO Season in Indian Startup Ecosystem

Pine Labs isn’t alone in testing the IPO waters this year.

Just last month, Groww, a popular wealth-tech and stockbroking platform, filed its DRHP aiming to raise $700 million to $1 billion through its own IPO.

Meanwhile, PhonePe, the digital payments giant backed by Walmart, is also expected to apply for an IPO in the third quarter of 2024.

With capital markets slowly heating up and global investors turning their gaze toward India again, 2024–25 may well become a defining period for new-age Indian tech companies transitioning into the public market arena.

What This Means for the Indian Startup Ecosystem

The Pine Labs IPO could send a strong signal to both domestic and international investors that India’s fintech story is not just alive—but thriving. It shows maturity in the startup ecosystem, where companies are increasingly looking to unlock value via public listings instead of staying private indefinitely.

It also sets a benchmark for other mid- to late-stage startups contemplating IPOs, especially in sectors like embedded finance, SaaS, and D2C commerce.

While questions remain around profitability and market sentiment, Pine Labs’ IPO journey is shaping up to be one of the most closely-watched stories in India’s 2024 startup narrative. Its successful listing could mark the resurgence of the Indian startup IPO wave—and potentially open the floodgates for many more to follow.

For the Indian retail investor, this might be a rare chance to own a piece of one of India's most established fintech ventures.