Pine Labs Files DRHP For IPO

Fintech unicorn Pine Labs has filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for its initial public offering (IPO) with the markets regulator SEBI. The company’s IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth up to INR 2,600 Cr ($304 Mn) and an offer for sale of up to 14.78 Cr shares. 

The OFS will see investors Mastercard, Peak XV Partners, Macritchie Investments, Paypal, cofounder Lokvir Kapoor, among others, sell their shares. Besides, the company may consider raising INR 520 Cr in its pre-IPO round. Post the IPO, shares of Pine Labs will list on the NSE and the BSE.

The fintech major plans to utilise the proceeds from the fresh issue for the following purposes: 

— INR 870 Cr would be used to make repayment or prepayment of borrowing availed by the company. Of this, INR 734.67 Cr would be used to repay borrowings of Pine Labs, INR 45.56 Cr would be utilised by subsidiary Synergistic and INR 89.76 Cr is earmarked for Cashless Technologies.

— Pine Labs plans to invest INR 760 Cr in its IT assets, expand its cloud infrastructure, and procure digital checkout points.

— It plans to invest INR 60 Cr in its subsidiaries Qwikcilver Singapore, Pine Payment Solutions, Malaysia and Pine Labs UAE for expanding its presence outside India. This investment has been planned in three equal parts in FY26, 27 and 28.

It is imperative to note that this marks Pine Labs’ first attempt at listing on the Indian bourses. Earlier, it planned to list in the US, targeting a potential $1 Bn IPO in 2022. However, it deferred the plans and simultaneously began gearing up for a listing in India. It began the reverse flip process in 2024, ultimately getting the NCLT nod in April 2025.

As per reports earlier this month, the company was looking to file the draft papers for INR 5,000 Cr to INR 6,000 Cr IPO by the end of June. The reports suggested that the IPO would likely value the company in the range of $4 Bn to $5 Bn.

Founded in 1988 by Lokvir Kapoor, Rajul Garg and Tarun Upadhyay, Pine Labs initially provided card-based payment solutions to retail petroleum industry but later pivoted to broader retail, becoming a leading point-of-sale (PoS) technology provider. 

Now, Pine Labs serves over 9.2 Lakh merchants, 666 consumer brands and enterprises and 164 financial institutions across India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, providing a range of financial solutions and technology.

The company has raised close to $1.6 Bn from Peak XV Partners, Actis Capital, Temasek, PayPal, Mastercard, Lone Pine Capital, Fidelity, BlackRock, among others. Peak XV is the largest stakeholder in the company, holding over 20.35% stake in the company. 

The fintech major last raised $50 Mn from Vitruvian Partners at a valuation slightly above $5 Bn in 2022. Later in 2023, its investor Fidelity Investments cut its valuation by about 9.2% to $4.5 Bn. 

Pine Labs turned profitable in the run up to its IPO. In the first nine months of FY25 (9M FY25), the company reported a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 26.1 Cr as against a loss of INR 151.6 Cr in the same period last year.

The substantial improvement in the bottom line came on the back of a substantial rise in its operating revenue. In 9M FY25, Pine Labs’ operating revenue stood at INR 1,208.2 Cr, marking a 23% growth from INR 982.1 Cr. Its expenses also surged to INR 1,238.4 Cr, up 3% from INR 1,205.8 Cr in the same period.