Global consumer internet group Prosus said on August 31 that an agreement had been reached for payments fintech PayU to acquire online payment gateway provider BillDesk for $4.7 billion.
Moneycontrol was the first to write about PayU’s interest in BillDesk. The proposed acquisition will see PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus that operates in more than 20 markets, become one of the leading online payment providers globally by total payments volume (TPV), the company said.
BillDesk was founded in 20000 by MN Srinivasu, Ajay Kaushal, and Karthik Ganapathy and was backed by investors like Clearstone, Visa and Temasek among others.
Together, PayU India and BillDesk will be able to meet the changing payments needs of digital consumers, merchants and Government enterprises in India and offer state-of-the-art technology to even more of the excluded sections of society, while adhering to the regulatory environment in India and delivering robust consumer protection, the company added.
Laurent Le Moal CEO of PayU, said, said, “We believe this transaction will stimulate both innovation and competition within India’s payments industry. This will not only help to strengthen India’s digital economy, but also bring financial services to those who may have historically been excluded.”
PayU operates across three businesses – Payments for domestic and cross border transactions, Credit solutions for consumers and small businesses and strategic investments in fintech companies.
For the financial year ended March 2021, PayU’s TPV grew 51 per cent year-on-year to $55bn across India, Latin America and EMEA.