Pine Labs aims to take Indian fintech global even as it cuts valuation for IPO

Core Viewpoint - Pine Labs, an Indian fintech startup, is going public at a valuation approximately 40% lower than its last private round, while aiming to expand its global fintech platform [1][2]. Company Overview - Pine Labs has set a price band of ₹210–₹221 (about $2.00–$2.50) per share, valuing the company at around ₹254 billion (approximately $2.9 billion) at the upper end of the range, which is a decline from over $5 billion in 2022 [2]. - The company has reduced its primary offering by 20% to ₹20.8 billion (approximately $234 million) and the offer for sale has been cut by 44% to 82.3 million shares from 148 million shares [3]. - Existing investors, including Peak XV Partners, Temasek Holdings, PayPal, and Mastercard, are selling part of their holdings in the offering [3]. Business Model and Revenue - Currently, about 70% of Pine Labs' revenue comes from digital infrastructure and transaction services, while the remaining 30% is generated from issuing and acquiring businesses [6]. - The company initially focused on point-of-sale terminals but has expanded to include bill payments and account-aggregator-based transactions [5]. Market Position and Expansion Plans - Pine Labs serves over 980,000 merchants, 716 consumer brands, and 177 financial institutions, facilitating over six billion transactions valued at more than ₹11.4 trillion (around $128 billion) [8]. - The company operates in 20 countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Africa, the UAE, and the U.S., and is seeking to expand its international presence [8]. - This expansion aligns with the Indian government's initiative to build globally competitive fintech offerings [7].