Paytm is in talks with Alibaba to raise $180 million to $200 million (around Rs1,347 crore) in investment, reported mint. Once the deal is finalised, the Jack Ma-led Chinese online behemoth will hold around 40% stake in Paytm’s new e-commerce business, reported The Times of India.
“India is an important emerging market with great potential and we are absolutely committed to developing it for the long term...While we are excited about addressing the market opportunity in India, we are not in a position to share any forward looking information with you at this moment,” Alibaba told the newspaper.
Paytm recently separated its wallets and online commerce businesses. The commerce business was introduced in 2014, though it has remained a secondary source of revenue for the company which has remained a mainly digital payments website so far. The company has also received payments bank licence from the Reserve Bank of India. Paytm is likely to launch a payments bank by month-end.
Alibaba and Alipay already hold stakes in One97 Communications, Paytm’s parent company. The other major investor is venture fund SAIF Partners, which is also one of the largest investors in One97. According to The Times of India, SAIF Partners will have 30% in Paytm’s e-commerce business, while founder Vijay Shekhar will own 20% stakes. Alibaba.com Singapore and AliPay Singapore have picked up 3,89,955 shares in the compnay at Rs 10 a piece, the newspaper reported quoting company filing made on February 1.
Alibaba was in talks with Flipkart in the past to enter the Indian e-commerce market, but that deal did not work out. The company also holds 4% stake in Snapdeal.
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