In the latest development, Prosus-backed PayU has agreed to buy BillDesk for a whopping $4.7 billion. Both parties have agreed to necessary terms and conditions, but the transaction is subject to approval from the Competition Commission of India. Earlier, PayU has acquired fintech firms including CitrusPay, Paysense, and Wibmo.
PayU to Buy BillDesk
PayU has strengthened its Indian operations further after acquiring BillDesk with a whopping deal of $4.7 billion. Since, 2005, Prosus, the owner of PayU, has shown immense trust in the Indian ecosystem and has partnered with many Indian entrepreneurs.
Talking about Prosus association with India, Bob van Dijk, Group CEO of Prosus, said: “We have a long and deep relationship with India, having supported and partnered with some of its most dynamic entrepreneurs and new tech businesses since 2005. We’ve invested close to US$6 billion in Indian tech to date, and this deal will see that increase to more than US$10 billion.”
Bob also praised BillDesk recent operations and technological advancements in the Indian financial sector. He added, “BillDesk exemplifies the ambition and expertise of Indian entrepreneurs, who are among the best in the world, with exceptional abilities to build products and services and understand scale and value. This is critical in a country as vast as India.”
Current acquisition news today further indicates Prosus’s aim to build powerful and useful products that will impact millions of people over the internet. Prosus investment is not only limited to the payment sector, but it has also shown trust in other sectors including classifieds, food delivery, and education technology. The global investment firm considers India as the number one investment destination.
How PayU will Help ‘Digital India’ Movement?
The current acquisition deal will not only bring innovation and advanced technology in the digital payment sector, but it will also help fintech firms to compete against each other for providing a better environment. Overall, it will strengthen the Indian digital economy. And, it also brings financial services to those who may have historically been excluded.
This ambition of PayU completely matches India’s vision of ‘Digital India’ and is a key objective for PayU across all the communities we serve globally.
PayU CEO Laurent Le Moal also said, “This deal is an example of how our purpose and our business objectives work together, accelerating growth and increasing access to financial services.”
While, M N Srinivasu, Co-founder of BillDesk, believes that the Reserve Bank of India’s(RBI) regulatory framework and support for innovation has brought a big change in the Indian digital payment ecosystem. He said, “BillDesk has been a pioneer in driving digital payments in India for well over a decade. This investment by Prosus validates the significant opportunity in India for digital payments.”
As per RBI’s FY21 annual findings, digital retail payments recorded 80 percent growth to 44 billion in 2020-21 from 24 billion in 2018-19. RBI study also suggests that 200+ million new users will join the digital payment system in the next three years with the average annual transactions per capita rising tenfold from 22 to 220.
Once the PayU and BillDesk deal is approved by the Competition Commission of India(CCI), the two will handle over four billion transactions annually that is 4x PayU’s current level in India.A
