Alibaba-backed Paytm in talks to raise US$350M from Temasek, GIC, others: Reports
Last September, the m-commerce company got US$680 million from Alibaba and Alipay
One97 Communications, which operates India’s largest m-commerce platform Paytm, is in advanced talks with a slew of investors to raise between US$300 million and US$350 million in fresh funding, said multiple reports quoting unnamed sources.
The Noida-based firm is holding talks with Singapore-based Temasek and GIC, besides Taiwanese firms MediaTek and Foxconn. Existing investors Alibaba and SAIF Partners are also likely to participate, according to Live Mint.
This funding could value One97 at about US$5 billion, according to the report.
Also Read: Alibaba does not dominate China, JD.com poses real threat to the e-commerce giant
An email sent to Paytm Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma did not elicit any response till the time of publishing this article.
Founded in 2000, One97 is a leading mobile Internet company that offers digital goods and services. It also provides mobile advertising, marketing and payments to merchants. It claims to have over 100 million registered users. Sapphire Venture and Silicon Valley Bank are also among its investors. Well-known industrialist Ratan Tata is also investor in Paytm.
Also Read: Paytm invests US$10M in logistics data startup LogiNext
Last September, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and its affiliate Ant Financial Services (Alipay) made a strategic investment of US$680 million in the firm.
Paytm is in the final stages of launching its payments bank which will allow it to open current, savings accounts for users with INR 1 lakh (US$1,500) as limit. Paytm cannot however lend or issue credit cards to customers.
Paytm’s key rival MobiKwik recently raised US$40 million from South African alternative payments firm N1 UEPS Technologies
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