CCI Approves PayU’s $4.7 Bn Acquisition Of BillDesk

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday (September 5) approved digital payments major PayU’s $4.7 Bn acquisition of payments gateway company BillDesk. 

In a tweet, the CCI said that it has given approval to PayU Payments for 100% acquisition of BillDesk (a subsidiary company of IndiaIdeas). The detailed order is awaited.

It must be noted that earlier, the CCI had sought additional information from PayU regarding its acquisition of Bill Desk and its implications on the competitors and relevant markets. 

Thereafter, PayU shared a revised merger notification with the CCI in April this year wherein it provided details about various relevant segments including Bharat Bill Payment System, recurring payment services and online merchant payment services. 

PayU further shared the list of the relevant Indian markets that it engages in such as retailer digital P2M payments market, online P2M payments market and risk management market for digital payments.

In the notification, PayU said that BillDesk’s acquisition would not cause any implication on the above-cited markets or constituent markets. It also informed that the said markets comprise over 100 competitors that sell products and services similar to it.

It is prudent to note that BillDesk’s acquisition has been called one of the biggest buyouts in the Indian online space after Walmart’s acquisition of 77% stake in Flipkart for $16 Bn.

PayU announced the acquisition of BillDesk in August last year. Following this, PayU’s competitors had approached the CCI expressing their concerns that the deal would cause a ‘potential monopoly’ in the online payment gateway space. 

BillDesk is the fourth acquisition of PayU in India. Prior to this, the online payments major bought CitrusPay for $130 Mn, Wibmo for $70 Mn, and acquired a controlling stake in PaySense for $185 Mn.

Founded in 2000 by M N Srinivasu, Ajay Kaushal and Karthik Ganapathy, BillDesk offers online payment services to businesses. Its offerings include online payment settlements, reconciliations, and auto-settlements.

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