Ajit Karn
PhonePe, an Indian company that specialises in digital payments, announced on Friday that it had secured $200 million (nearly Rs. 1,650 crore) from Walmart, the company’s dominant investor, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. (nearly Rs. 99,000 crore).
PhonePe, which is already the most valuable payments company in India and is one of the most highly-valued startups in the country, stated that the investment is a component of its continuing fundraise of up to one billion dollars. (nearly Rs. 8,250 crore).
In the past two months, it has garnered $350 million (nearly Rs. 2,900 crore) from the private equity company General Atlantic as well as $100 million (nearly Rs. 820 crore) from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, and TVS Capital Funds, all at the same $12 billion valuation.
PhonePe, an Indian business, announced that the American retail giant Walmart, which purchased a majority share in PhonePe in 2018, will continue as a majority investor. The Indian company did not disclose Walmart’s stake in the company.
In spite of the fact that financing has been scarce, the Indian digital payments space has been a shining spot. This is largely attributable to the widespread adoption of online payment methods and the aspirations of startups to expand into the lucrative financial services sector.
PhonePe has stated that it intends to put these assets to use in the development and expansion of new businesses, such as lending, financial management, and insurance.
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In the latter half of 2017, PhonePe severed its ties with the Indian e-commerce behemoth Flipkart. At the same time, the company relocated its registered headquarters from Singapore to India; Walmart was responsible for footing the nearly one billion dollar tax bill associated with the move.
According to some accounts, the relocation was carried out in order to facilitate a simpler entrance into the highly regulated financial services industry of the country, particularly the lending sector.
