India, March 16 -- PhonePe Ltd. has deferred its much-awaited IPO in India, citing the impact of the ongoing Iran war on investor sentiment and the wider stock market.

"We sincerely hope for a swift return to peace in all the affected regions. We remain committed to a public listing in India," PhonePe Sameer Nigam said.

The fintech firm controlled by Walmart Inc. was reportedly eyeing a valuation of $9 billion-10.5 billion in an IPO. That was already at a discount to the $12-billion valuation that the company enjoyed when it raised $100 million in 2023.

Walmart is planning to offload about 12% stake in the PhonePe IPO, which will give an exit to investors Tiger Global and Microsoft Corp., according to a draft red-herring prospectus (DR...