In a move that represents continued momentum in the nation’s digital payments sector, Indian fintech company PayU has acquired payment pioneer BillDesk for an all-cash purchase of $4.7 billion. The deal is the largest of its kind in India’s history, and the combined entity is expected to be used for more than four billion transactions annually.
Backed by Dutch investment giant Prosus, BillDesk was India’s first payment gateway firm, founded in 2000 and quickly rising to impressive heights in the world of B2B2C payment support. BillDesk’s area of specialization is seen by insiders as complementary to PayU’s mission of providing convenient and secure payment services in nearly two dozen global markets. Indeed, PayU has recently acquired other local fintech firms including CitrusPay and Paysense in 2016 and 2020 respectively.
The purchase is also consistent with Prosus’ strategy of increased global investment, more than doubling Prosus’ investments in India alone to over $10 billion. Prosus Group CEO Bob van Dijk says he expects the country’s digital payments sector to “grow by a factor of 10 [over] the next few years.”
PayU CEO Anirban Mukherjee concurs with this sentiment, projecting new offerings to merchants through both PayU native software and established BillDesk properties.
