Bajaj Finance takes stake in mobile payments company MobiKwik

REUTERS – Bajaj Finance Ltd said on Wednesday, it would buy nearly an 11 percent stake in mobile payments wallet company One MobiKwik Systems Private Ltd for about 2.25 billion rupees ($ 35.36 million).

Bajaj Finance will enter into a subscription agreement with MobiKwik to buy 10 equity shares and 271,050 compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS), Bajaj Finance said.

Post conversion of the CCPS, the company would hold about 10.83 percent of equity in MobiKwik on a fully diluted basis, the company said in a statement. (bit.ly/2f93XDH)

E-payments in India surged after the country banned old, high-value currency notes late last year. Digital payments in India will jump nearly 10 times by 2020 to $ 500 billion, according to a 2016 report by Boston Consulting Group.

Axis Bank Ltd, India’s seventh-biggest lender by assets, said in July it had agreed to buy rival mobile payments wallet provider FreeCharge from e-commerce company Snapdeal for 3.85 billion rupees.