PayPal reportedly in final stages to buy 25pc stake in Freecharge

Post demonetization, the online payment gateways are slowly becoming new norm in the Indian economy. Now to add some more comepetition in the already crowded market, Global digital payment platform, PayPal is in the final stages of closing a deal to buy a minority stake in the the Snapdeal-owned digital payments company Freecharge, reports LiveMint.

Citing sources, the report says that the company could sell around 25 percent stake for about $200 million in a deal. A person aware of the development said that the offer will be discussed by the board members of Jasper Infotech, the parent company of Snapdeal which owns and operates Freecharge. The discussion is likely to take place in the first week of January.

Apparently, PayPal has hired Goldman Sachs as an adviser while Deutsche Bank is advising Jasper Infotech in this transaction. Recently, PayPal also filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Paytm and claimed the latter was using a logo and colour scheme similar to its own, thus clearing how serious it was with its India business.

In the backdrop of demonetization of high currency notes, PayPal doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to make an India entry. The sources add that Snapdeal’s board is keen on PayPal.

Freecharge was founded in August 2010 by Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon and secured funding from many investors, including Sequoia Capital, Tybourne Capital Management and San Francisco-based fund Valiant Capital Management.