(Feb 13): SoftBank Group Corp’s digital payments provider PayPay Corp has filed publicly for a US initial public offering (IPO), in what could be the biggest listing for a Japanese company on a US stock exchange.
Japan’s dominant QR-code payments application may list as early as March, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. PayPay is seeking a valuation of more than US$10 billion ($12.6 billion), although SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is pushing for a valuation as high as US$20 billion, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
Representatives of PayPay and SoftBank’s telecom unit SoftBank Corp declined to comment on PayPay valuation.
The business had a profit of JPY103.3 billion (US$676 million or $850.4 million) on JPY278.5 billion revenue in the nine months ended December versus a profit of JPY28.96 billion on revenue of JPY220.4 billion in the same period a year earlier, the filing said. Details including the number of shares being offered and the expected offering price range will be disclosed in a future filing.
PayPay originated in 2018 as a joint venture with Vision Fund-backed Indian payments company Paytm. Shortly after launch, the company zoomed past Rakuten Group Inc’s Rakuten Pay in capturing users, thanks to heavy marketing, aggressive subsidies and SoftBank’s support in signing on merchants around Japan. As of December, the number of PayPay users exceeded 72 million in a country of roughly 123 million.
QR codes accounted for 9.6% of Japan’s total cashless transactions in 2024, up from 0.2% in 2018, according to the Economy Ministry. The share held by credit cards stood at 82.9%, but that portion has been shrinking.
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PayPay, which is majority-owned by SoftBank Group and SoftBank Corp, has been stepping up efforts to expand overseas ahead of the global offering. PayPay last year began making its service accessible in over two million shops in South Korea for Japanese customers. The company this week announced a partnership with Visa to explore opportunities in the US.
The IPO comes as SoftBank monetises more assets to finance new investments in artificial intelligence. The tech investor said it divested nearly US$13 billion worth of T-Mobile US Inc shares between June and December alone.
PayPay will continue to be a SoftBank Corp subsidiary following the IPO and the Japanese company doesn’t expect the listing to have any material impact on its consolidated earnings, according to an earlier statement.
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The offering is being led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Mizuho Financial Group and Morgan Stanley, the filing showed. The company plans to make its debut on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol PAYP.
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