Pine Labs’s unending quest for a perfect IPO

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Editor's note: When Sequoia Capital India’s managing director Shailendra Singh offered Citrus Pay co-founder and close friend Amrish Rau the position of chief executive at Pine Labs three years ago, his ask was straightforward: take control of operations, bring in new investors and prepare for an initial public offering that would help the venture capital giant cash out of the Noida-based fintech firm.  When Rau joined Pine Labs in March 2020, Sequoia owned nearly 42.5% of the 25-year-old company and was already an investor for 10 years. The VC firm has since offloaded over 20% of its holding for proceeds north of $350 million in a series of secondary sales, according to three industry executives aware of the matter, who asked not to be named.  During this period, Pine Labs raised funds in three major rounds, with marquee investors Lone Pine Capital, Alpha Wave Global and Sofina, among others, joining its cap table. Its valuation jumped from under $1 billion in 2020 to $5 billion in January 2022, when it concluded its last publicly announced round. At the time, Sequoia’s stake in …