India: Mobile wallet firms FreeCharge, MobiKwik talk merger

Mobile wallet firm FreeCharge plans to merge with competitor MobiKwik in an all-stock deal, according to a Business Standard report citing sources close to the companies. Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital (Cisco, Yahoo!, Instagram, etc.) is an investor in both companies.

The merged entity is likely to get an investment of $200 million from a Chinese investor who is looking to make an entry into the country, said the report.

The report further said that there ares some banks too which have indicated that they would be interested to invest in a merged entity. The talks are currently at the initial stage.

It was also reported that PayPal was initially interested in investing a sizable amount into FreeCharge but the deal could not be closed.

If FreeCharge and MobiKwik are merged, the new entity is estimated to be worth around $700 million to $1 billion. Both the firms are worth $300 million each.

Full Content: Business Standard

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