Pine Labs Elevates CEO Amrish Rau To MD & Chairman Ahead Of IPO

SUMMARY

Pine Labs said that its board has accorded to designate and appoint Bairavarasu Amrish Rau, additional director of the company, as MD and chairman for the period of 5 years

Rau was the chief executive of PayU India before joining Pine Labs as CEO in March 2020

Recently, Pine Labs secured final approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to merge its Indian and Singapore entities

Fintech major Pine Labs has elevated its chief executive officer Amrish Rau to the dual role of managing director and chairman amid plans for an initial public offering worth $1 Bn.

In a regulatory filing, Pine Labs said that its board has accorded to designate and appoint Bairavarasu Amrish Rau, additional director of the company, as MD and chairman for the period of 5 years, starting March 24 2025, to March 23 2030.

Rau was the chief executive of PayU India before joining Pine Labs as CEO in March 2020.

Recently, Pine Labs secured final approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to merge its Indian and Singapore entities.

For the same, it has picked five bankers, including Axis Capital, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JP Morgan and Jefferies.

However, the company seems to be far from its path to profitability. In FY24, its net loss widened to INR 187 Cr from INR 56 Cr in the previous fiscal year. However, its operating revenue stood at INR 1,317 Cr in FY24 as against INR 1,281 Cr in the previous fiscal.

This also marks Pine Labs’ second attempt at going public. The company had earlier planned to list on US exchanges but deferred those plans due to unfavourable market conditions.

The development comes at a time when several other startups are shifting their domiciles to India, with plans for public listing. These include PhonePe, Groww, Zepto, among others.

With at least 20 homegrown startups aiming for a public debut in 2025, many are expected to undergo reverse flipping as a precursor to IPOs, as it eases regulatory compliance.

Relocating helps companies sidestep the complexities of stringent FEMA and FDI regulations. Moreover, being domiciled in India eliminates the dual oversight from both Indian and foreign authorities.

The growing enthusiasm around IPOs is further underscored by the fact that 13 new-age tech companies debuted on Dalal Street, collectively raising a record INR 29,000 Cr+ through Indian public markets.

Founded in 1998 by Lokvir Kapoor, Rajul Garg, and Tarun Upadhyay, Pine Labs offers comprehensive payment solutions, including point-of-sale terminals and online payment gateways, serving over 5 Lakh merchants across India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. It counts the likes of Peak XV Partners, Temasek, PayPal and Mastercard among its backers.

It competes against the likes of Paytm, PhonePe, RazorPay among others. If successful, Pine Labs’ IPO would be the largest by an Indian fintech company after Paytm’s $2.5 Bn listing in 2021.