European technology giant, Porsus canceled the $4.7 billion acquisition of BillDesk stating that certain conditions were not fulfilled and the agreement has terminated automatically under its terms.
Why it matters: The all-cash acquisition which was announced at the peak of the bull cycle last year, was considered to be the second largest M&A deal in the South Asian market’s consumer internet space.
The investment arm of Naspers - which invested close to $6 billion in India has lost more than half of its market cap since early last year.
Last Year: The investment arm of Naspers - which invested close to $6 billion in India has lost more than half of its market cap since early last year.
On 31 August 2021, Naspers announced that an agreement had been made between PayU Payments Private Limited and shareholders of Indian digital payments provider BillDesk to acquire Billdesk for $4.7 billion.
Backstory: The deal would have meant a $1.4 billion payday for founders and over $3 billion for investors. However, certain conditions were not fulfilled by the 30 September 2022 long stop date, leading to the termination of the agreement.
Backlash: The deal was aiming to create digital payments giant with a total volume of $147 billion and betting on a surge in the industry in India. The investment arm of Naspers has lost more than half of its market cap since early last year.
Catch Up Quick: According to industry experts, the deal marked the beginning of the consolidation in the growing and fragmented payments space, which is also seeing players shift from only online or offline offerings to providing omnichannel products to merchants.
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