The Japanese internet and telecom giant Softbank has led one of the largest investment rounds in Indian startup scene by investing $1.4 billion (approx Rs 9,000 Cr) in Paytm. With this round of investment Paytm is now estimated to be worth $7 billion.
“In line with the Indian government’s vision to promote digital inclusion, we are committed to transforming the lives of hundreds of millions of Indian consumers and merchants by providing them digital access to a broad array of financial services, including mobile payments,” SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said.
The company was valued at $6 billion in March when Paytm’s existing investors Reliance Capital, SVB and SAP ventures sold their stakes of about 4.3% to Alibaba Group & Ant Financial Services Group.
With this round, Softbank has crossed the $10 billion mark in pumping funds into the Indian startups. It has invested in country’s biggest startups like Snapdeal, Ola and Housing.com.
“We are at an inflection point in our journey with Paytm. This investment by Softbank and support of the incredible entrepreneur Masa Son is a great endorsement of our team’s execution and vision. We believe we have a great opportunity to bring financial inclusion to half a billion Indians,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm.
This $1.4 billion deal includes $400 million worth of shares that SoftBank will buy largely from Paytm’s early investor SAIF Partners in a secondary transaction and a minor stake from founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
Paytm has also announced the launch of its payments bank on 23 of this month.
