SoftBank-backed PayPay (PAYP.US) IPO priced at $16, below the previously recommended range.

Insiders say that Japanese digital wallet operator, PayPay Corp., plans to price its initial public offering (IPO) in the United States at $16 per share, lower than the range previously presented to investors. Despite the current market volatility due to geopolitical conflicts, the deal is still moving forward. Sources suggest that the SoftBank-backed company plans to issue approximately 55 million American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), raising an estimated $880 million. Previously, the offering price range presented to investors was between $17 and $20 per share. Each ADR represents one share of the company's common stock. According to trading documents, the company plans to officially set the IPO price on Wednesday. Insiders say that the offering has received demand from institutional investors, with subscription levels reaching several times the number of ADRs available for issuance. PayPay has not responded to requests for comment outside of normal business hours in Tokyo. As PayPay progresses with its IPO, global markets are experiencing volatility due to escalating conflicts in the Middle East. In fact, even before the situation in Iran worsened, the IPO market for U.S. financial technology companies was facing challenges, with some related companies performing poorly. At a price of $16 per share, PayPay's market value is approximately $10.7 billion. The company had hoped to achieve a valuation of over $10 billion, while SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son had pushed to raise the valuation target to $20 billion. Established in 2018, PayPay was originally a joint venture project launched by SoftBank and Indian payment company Paytm (an investment of SoftBank Vision Fund). With large-scale marketing, aggressive subsidies, and support from SoftBank's network of merchants in Japan, PayPay quickly expanded its market share, surpassing Rakuten Pay of the Rakuten Group in terms of user scale. As of December last year, PayPay had approximately 72 million users, while Japan's total population is approximately 123 million, indicating its leading position in the domestic mobile payment market. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, SMBC Nikko Securities, and Morgan Stanley are serving as underwriters for this IPO. PayPay is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, with the stock code "PAYP."