SoftBank Group's PayPay Targets $13.4 Billion Valuation in U.S. IPO

By Kosaku Narioka

SoftBank Group's payments app operator, PayPay, is targeting a valuation of up to $13.4 billion in a U.S. initial public offering, a move that could bolster the Japanese technology investor's coffers as it pours billions into artificial intelligence.

PayPay said Monday in a regulatory filing that about 55 million American depositary shares are expected to be offered at $17.00 to $20.00 apiece.

SoftBank Group entities will retain a voting stake of about 91.8% after the offering, assuming underwriters don't exercise their option to buy additional shares.

The payments app operator launched in 2018 and reached 72 million registered users as of the end of 2025--about 75% of Japan's smartphone users, PayPay said.

The IPO comes as SoftBank Group invests heavily in OpenAI and other AI-related companies, while selling assets and borrowing against holdings to fund those bets.

The Tokyo-based company, led by billionaire Masayoshi Son, said Monday it would invest an additional $30 billion in OpenAI this year, bringing its total investment in the ChatGPT maker to $64.6 billion. After this investment, SoftBank Group is expected to hold a 13% stake in OpenAI.

In October, SoftBank Group sold its entire stake in Nvidia for $5.8 billion to help fund its investment in the ChatGPT maker. It has also borrowed billions of dollars against its stakes in chip design unit Arm and mobile carrier subsidiary SoftBank Corp.

In the IPO, PayPay will sell 31.1 million American depositary shares, while an investment fund controlled by SoftBank Group will offer 23.9 million shares.

PayPay said a unit of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, a Visa subsidiary and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have indicated interest in purchasing up to $220 million of the shares.

After the offering, about 668.6 million common shares will be outstanding. Each American depositary share represents one common share.

PayPay's operating profit more than doubled to 61 billion yen, equivalent to $387.2 million, for the nine months ended December, as revenue grew 26% to Y278 billion.

The payments app operator has applied to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "PAYP."

Write to Kosaku Narioka at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-02-26 2257ET