Prosus — the Dutch tech giant that bundles together Naspers’ fintech, e-commerce and other international investments and businesses outside of South Africa (including a big stake in Tencent) — announced that it would pay $4.7 billion to acquire BillDesk, a payments provider based in India. Prosus plans to combine BillDesk with PayU, its existing global fintech and payments business, which already has a strong presence in India. The proposed acquisition will make PayU one of the bigger online payment providers globally with some $147 billion in payment volume annually. But the proposed all-cash deal is not only a significant consolidation move in the world of payments: it also underscores Prosus’ continuing focus on developing markets and specifically India. Prosus said that the deal — one of the biggest ever made by Prosus, and one of the biggest M&A moves in India — will give its fintech holdings in India a cumulative investment value of over $10 billion.
Prosus and PayU executives said they don’t expect much hurdle in receiving the approval as PayU and BillDesk offer complimentary businesses. BillDesk’s network is used by India’s largest banks and by many merchants across utilities, telecom, insurance, mutual funds, travel and e-commerce verticals. India represents a huge market for financial services, with a digitally savvy consumer base with a rapidly expanding middle class with disposable income. Other businesses PayU operates include credit solutions across India and five other markets. Prosus itself is also an active investor, with stakes in remittance company Remitly and others — representing a pipeline for strategic partnerships, but also potentially future acquisitions.