The current deal would make Mobikwik the country’s second fintech unicorn after Paytm parent One97 Communications. Source: Shutterstock

Online payment platform MobiKwik set to become India’s latest fintech unicorn

By | 11 May, 2017

MOBIKWIK could become India’s next fintech unicorn after it was revealed they are in talks over a funding round that would value them at US$1 billion.

The digital payment provider is reportedly in the process of raising US$100 million from US investor BlackRock and Indian state-run lenders including Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank, a source told Bloomberg.

The current deal would make it the country’s second fintech unicorn after Paytm parent One97 Communications. But the source said the terms of the deal aren’t finalized and could yet change. None of the companies involved responded to request for comments.

The company has been trying to raise funds for some time, according to The Business Standard, and co-founder Upasana Taku and founder-CEO Bipin Preet Singh have been meeting investors in the US and elsewhere.

The offer may have been sweetened by news the company is close to a merger with rival digital payment provider Freecharge, currently owned by struggling e-commerce firm Snapdeal. The deal would see the company inherent some lucrative merchants like Uber, Big Basket and MakeMyTrip as well as Freecharge’s customer base that would make it the second largest player after leader Paytm.

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It’s far from a done deal though. Today, The Economic Times reported Paytm has signed a non-exclusive terms sheet to acquire Freecharge. Due diligence will begin next week and the deal could be finalized in a month, a source said.

But the non-exclusivity of the deal means a deal with MobiKwik, or e-commerce giant Flipkart, who were also believed to be interested, is not out of the window yet.



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Edd Gent is a science and technology writer based in Bangalore, India. His main areas of interest are engineering, technology and biology. He has been published by The Economist and the BBC, among other publications.

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