SoftBank Picks Wall Street Banks for Potential $2 Billion PayPay IPO

SoftBank Group Corp. has mandated Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mizuho Financial Group and Morgan Stanley to lead preparations for a U.S. initial public offering of its Japanese mobile-payments operator PayPay, according to people familiar with the matter. The share sale could raise in excess of $2 billion and may take place as soon as the fourth quarter of 2025, the sources said, cautioning that both timing and size will depend on market conditions. All of the banks and SoftBank declined to comment. A float of PayPay would mark the first U.S. listing of a company majority-owned by SoftBank since the $54.5 billion IPO of chip designer Arm Holdings in 2023. Founded in 2018, PayPay has helped accelerate Japan’s shift away from cash through rebates and now offers additional banking and credit-card services. Ownership of the business is split among SoftBank Corp., SoftBank’s Vision Fund and internet affiliate LY Corp.