Ecommerce Major Infibeam To Raise $292 Mn To Set Up Its Payments Bank

Ahmedabad-headquartered ecommerce major Infibeam is now all set to expand business in IT segment and is looking to set up its payments bank and also raise $292 Mn (INR 2000 Cr).

The regulatory filings revealed that at the extraordinary general meeting held on June 28, 2018, the shareholders’  also approved a change in its name from Infibeam Incorporation Limited to “Infibeam Avenues Limited”.

The company had sought shareholders’ approval to apply for authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India for Payments Bank and also to explore the business opportunity in the manufacturing of IT hardware.

With this approval, the company plans to leverage its financial technology and expand business in the domain by seeking RBI permit to issue all kind of prepaid payment instruments e-wallets, co-branded wallets, and any other prepaid payment instrument that the banking regulator may allow from time to time.

Inc42 had recently reported that Infibeam reported a 108% YoY growth in revenue to $33.4 Mn (INR 2,135) Mn in Q3 FY18. Also, the company’s profit after tax (PAT) also increased by 146% year-on-year to $4.8 Mn (INR 308 Mn).

The jump in its financials has come on the back of strong growth of the Infibeam Web Services (IWS) segment led by increased transaction volume and digital services growth, the company stated in its earnings report for the quarter ending in December 2017.

As a cloud-based omnichannel ecommerce platform, Infibeam provides end-to-end ecommerce solutions to small and large merchants, enterprises and government.

In October 2015, Infibeam Incorporation became the first ecommerce company in the country to be listed with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India), after getting an approval to raise $69 Mn (INR 450 Cr) through an initial public offering (IPO).

In July 2017, Infibeam and fintech startup Intellect Design Arena won a five-year contract to manage a government emarketplace (GeM). More than 20 states, including union territories, have signed MoUs with the centre to integrate GeM as of end of Q3 FY18.

Soon after in November 2017, the company also received an in-principle nod from the RBI to launch B2B payment services through the CCAvenue platform.

Recently in May 2018, the company also acquired Snapdeal’s cloud-based inventory management subsidiary Unicommerce for $17.8 Mn. Also, Snapdeal’s Jason Kothari has now joined ecommerce company as president.

As the rare sight of profitability in consumer Internet companies of India, Infibeam has continued to post strong growth. With fundraise and entry into $200 Bn worth digital payments industry, Infibeam continues to showcase a promising endeavour.

[The development was reported by Money Control.]

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