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Philippine e-wallet firm Mynt aiming for $8 billion valuation in IPO, sources say
Philippine e-wallet firm Mynt aiming for $8 billion valuation in IPO, sources say
About this update from Ayala Corp.
By Kane Wu and Yantoultra NguiMynt, the Philippine company behind the country's top e-wallet GCash, is planning to file for a domestic listing as early as July and is seeking a valuation of at least $8 billion, two people with knowledge of the matter said.It is aiming to raise around $1 billion and the listing could take place later this year, said the sources, who declined to be identified as the information was confidential.The offering, if completed at that size, would rival the roughly $1 billion raised by food company Monde Nissin PSE:MONDE in 2021, the Philippines' largest IPO to date.Mynt declined to comment.DOMINANT PHILIPPINE E-WALLET BY FARMynt's main service is GCash, which says it is used by 94 million Filipinos in a country with a population of nearly 120 million.Users of the app can purchase prepaid mobile data packages, pay bills, send and receive money, access savings as well as loans and insurance.The IPO's timing, size and valuation target could still change depending on market conditions and regulatory approvals, one of the sources said.The company appointed banks including Citi NYSE:C, Jefferies NYSE:JEF and UBS SIX:UBSG to work on the IPO in early 2025.But it had been waiting for local regulators to ease minimum public ownership requirements before moving ahead, according to sources.Those requirements have now been eased. The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission in February lowered the minimum IPO public float for large issuers to 15% from 20%, with case-by-case relief available for exceptionally large companies to list with a float of as low as 12%.Sources said the change allows shareholders in companies like Mynt to avoid heavy dilution in an IPO.Mynt was founded in 2015 as a partnership between Globe Telecom PSE:GLO, Ayala Corp PSE:AC and Ant Financial, now known as Ant Group.Mynt also owns Fuse Financing, a lending business, and Ryse, a wealth technology platform. The company was valued at $5 billion in 2024 after Ayala Corp and Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group TSE:8306 agreed to invest in the company, which was more than double its 2021 valuation.