PayU’s $4.7Bn acquisition of Indian fintech major Billdesk, among the biggest in Indian financial services space, has been terminated by the former. PayU parent Prosus revealed in a filing, that the deal has been terminated due to certain pre-conditions remaining unmet even till September 30, the long-stop due date for the deal to close.
“PayU secured CCI approval on 5 September 2022. However, certain conditions precedent were not fulfilled by the 30 September 2022 long stop date, and the agreement has terminated automatically in accordance with its terms and, accordingly, the proposed transaction will not be implemented,” Prosus said in a stock exchange filing. The company didn’t elaborate on the conditions that were not met.
Founded in 2000 at a time when startups weren’t the thing that they are today in India, the 21 year old fintech “startup” Billdesk, is one of the largest payment platforms in the country, with ₹2.71 billion in after-tax net profit for FY ended March 31, 2021. PayU offers payments for both cross-border and domestic transactions, credit solutions for small businesses and consumers, as well as make strategic investments in innovative fintech start-ups.
Had the acquisition gone through, PayU would have invested nearly $10Bn in the Indian fintech space, having made investments in several Indian start-ups, including Swiggy. PayU had earlier made several acquisitions in India, including CitrusPay, Paysense, and Wibmo.
