GCash, a Philippine fintech, has hired banks including Citi, Jefferies and UBS to work on a domestic IPO worth up to $1.5 billion, three sources familiar with the matter said, in what would be the largest largest share offering ever made in the country.
The IPO is expected to take place as early as the second half of 2025 or in 2026, subject to general market conditions, said two of the sources, who declined to be named due to the private nature of the matter.
If the listing goes ahead, it will be the largest ever in the Philippines, surpassing Filipino food company Monde Nissin’s $1 billion IPO in 2021.
In response to questions from Reuters, GCash on Friday referred to a statement from its listed subsidiary, Globe Telecom, to the Philippine Stock Exchange, saying it had no material information to disclose at this time regarding the commitment banks for the GCash IPO.
“We would like to reiterate that GCash’s plan is to be ready for an IPO in due course, but no final decision has been made at this stage,” Globe Telecom said in the statement.
Bloomberg first reported that GCash had nominated HSBC, Jefferies, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS for the IPO.
Citi, HSBC, Jefferies, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS declined to comment.
-The GCash IPO could boost the IPO market in Southeast Asia, where total IPO proceeds fell 43% from $5.76 billion in 2023 to $3.28 billion dollars in 2024, according to LSEG data.
Proceeds from IPOs in the Philippines stood at $234.1 million in 2024, a jump from $72.9 million the previous year, according to LSEG data.
On its website, GCash describes itself as “the number one financial app and largest cashless ecosystem” in the Philippines. Its app can be used for services such as sending money and paying bills in the Philippines.
In August last year, its parent company Globe Fintech Innovations Inc, also known as Mynt, announced that it had landed investments from Philippine conglomerate Ayala Corp and Japanese financial group Mitsubishi UFJ that gave it a valuation of $5 billion, according to a press release issued at the time.
This amount is more than double the $2 billion valuation obtained in a previous funding round in 2021, according to the release.
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