CCI clears PayU’s $4.7 billion acquisition of BillDesk

A year after the deal was announced, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday said it has approved payments major PayU's $4.7 billion acquisition of online payments firm BillDesk.

While the detailed order by the CCI is awaited, it wrote on Twitter, "Commission approves acquisition of 100% of the equity share capital of http://IndiaIdeas.com (BillDesk) by PayU Payments."

The PayU-BillDesk deal is pegged as the second-largest buyout in the Indian internet sector after Walmart’s $ 16 billion acquisition of ecommerce major Flipkart in 2018. This will involve the merger of the payments gateway business of two of India's largest players.

The deal was delayed as the competition watchdog sought more information about the $4.7 billion buyout of BillDesk by PayU India.

Last year in August, global consumer internet group and technology investor Prosus NV had announced that an agreement has been reached between PayU and the shareholders of BillDesk to acquire BillDesk for $4.7 billion.

The acquisition, which will see PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus, which operates in more than 20 high-growth markets, become one of the leading online payment providers globally by total payment volume (TPV).

BillDesk, founded in 2000, is a leading payment businesses in the country. “Together, PayU India and BillDesk will be able to meet the changing payments needs of digital consumers, merchants and Government enterprises in India and offer state-of-the-art technology to even more of the excluded sections of society, while adhering to the regulatory environment in India and delivering robust consumer protection,” Prosus had said.

The deal will bring Prosus’s cumulative investment in Indian tech to more than $10 billion. Prosus CEO had then said, “Payments and fintech is a core segment for Prosus, and India remains our number one investment destination."