Paytm reportedly to buy FreeCharge at 80pc discount

Snapdeal may have finally found a buyer for its payments solution arm, FreeCharge. Paytm has signed a 'non-exclusive agreement' to acquire FreeCharge in an all-cash deal, reports Economic Times.

Citing people in the know of the things, the report said that Alibaba-backed Paytm will be beginning the financial and commercial due diligence for the transaction next week and if everything falls into place, the deal would be finalised within next thirty days.

From $450 million to $45 million

While Snapdeal had acquired Freecharge for $450 million, the latter could be sold to rival Paytm for as low as $45 million. According to sources, the deal will be finalised anywhere between $45 million to $90 million.

After failing to raise funds for FreeCharge and failed talks with global payment majors like PayPal, this was expected sooner or later. However, what's interesting is that the two have signed a non-exclusive agreement which gives Snapdeal some room to look out for better buyers as well.

Sources say that Snapdeal has once again started talks with Paypal and two other Bangalore-based companies. However, neither of the parties have commented on the reports.

The development comes in when Paytm is also in advanced stages of discussions to raise up to $1.9 billion in fresh funding from Japan's SoftBank that could value it between $8 billion and $9 billion.