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PhonePe clears regulatory hurdle, sets stage for India IPO
MUMBAI: PhonePe, the Walmart-backed digital payments firm, has received regulatory approval to proceed with its stock market listing, clearing a key hurdle after confidentially filing for an initial public offering in September, reports Reuters.
The IPO is expected to include partial share sales by existing investors including Walmart, Microsoft and Tiger Global.
The listing comes as India’s primary markets continue to run hot, with equity fundraising touching record levels in 2025. PhonePe is targeting a market debut by mid-2026. The company was last valued at $12 billion in 2023, when it raised funds from private investors.
Founded in 2015, PhonePe is India’s largest payments platform on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), commanding over 45 per cent market share by transaction volume as of December 2025. It processed 9.8 billion of the 21.6 billion UPI transactions recorded in August, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India.
The company counts more than 600 million registered users and serves nearly 50 million merchants nationwide. A delay by Indian regulators in enforcing market-share caps on UPI in 2024 has benefited dominant players such as PhonePe and Google Pay.
Ahead of the IPO, PhonePe disclosed that its losses narrowed to Rs 17.2 billion ($189 million) in the year ended March 2025, from Rs 19.96 billion a year earlier, signalling improving financial discipline as it prepares to tap public markets.
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JioHotstar EVP, head subscriptions (SVOD) and media Piyush Kothari exits
Streaming executive signs off after 6.5-year run across DisneyStar and JioStar
MUMBAI: Piyush Kothari, EVP and head subscriptions (SVOD) and media at JioHotstar, has stepped down from his role, bringing the curtain down on a 6.5-year stint spanning the DisneyStar and JioStar eras.
Kothari shared the update in a note reflecting on what he called a “transformative” phase for the media industry and a personal journey through the fast-evolving world of streaming and sports entertainment.
“The last few years have been transformative for the media industry and experiencing this journey up close over the past 6.5 years with DisneyStar and now JioStar has been a thriller,” he wrote, thanking colleagues and collaborators who shaped his time in the business.
Kothari joined JioHotstar in November 2024 as EVP, head subscriptions (svod) and media, where he oversaw subscription revenues and subscriber growth for the platform’s svod business.
Before that, he spent over five years at The Walt Disney Company in a series of leadership roles. His last position there was head of product, growth, partnerships and international expansion for Disney+ Hotstar, where he led efforts to scale subscription revenues across direct to consumer and partnership channels. The role also involved overseeing the service’s standalone businesses in markets such as Singapore, Canada and the UK.
Earlier, he served as lead, corporate office and strategic projects, working across the company’s entertainment, sports and streaming businesses. He also headed business operations at Mashal Sports, the entity behind the Pro Kabaddi League, where he helped steer the league through key commercial milestones including a five year broadcast and streaming media rights deal.
Alongside his operational roles, Kothari also served as nominee director on the board of Mashal Sports and was a director on the board of Novi Digital, the company that operates Hotstar.
Before entering the media and entertainment space, Kothari held senior roles across consulting, fintech and conglomerates. He worked with Welspun Group as head, group executive office, with Aditya Birla Group as joint president and business head, digital, analytics and strategy at Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank, and earlier served as vice president in the chairman’s office at the group.
His career also includes stints at Accenture as principal, Accenture Strategy, and earlier at Shell in channel development and sales.
Reflecting on his time in the media sector, Kothari said he leaves with a lasting belief in India’s subscription economy. He also joked about picking up a new affection along the way.
“Carrying with me love for kabaddi, a deep belief in the potential of the subscriptions business in India, and fond memories and friendships,” he wrote, adding that he is now “onward to the next chapter”.
