After the Flipkart and Snapdeal, mobile wallet startups FreeCharge and MobiKwik are now in talk for a potential merge. As per the source, both the firm are in talk to merge in all stock deal.
FreeCharge which is the arm of Snapdeal is struggling to raise funds for over a year, where on the other hand, MobiKwik has been raising funds easily. According to sources, Jason Kothari, recently appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of FreeCharge, has been in talks with investors in the US and China to sell it. PayPal was initially interested in putting a sizable investment in FreeCharge but the deal could not be closed.
According to an informed source: “The talks started last week as people from MobiKwik and Freecharge met to discuss a merger. This would make them one of the largest in the market. The Chinese investor is interested in putting in around $200 mn in the merged entity as only a bigger player would be able to hold its own against Paytm.”
If the merger between MobiKwik and FreeCharge takes place the deal is estimated to be worth around $700 million to $1 billion. Both the firms are worth $300 million each and both the firms will get about 45-50% stake in the merged entity.
An inside person familiar with the deal said: “The proposed transaction will be more of a merger between Freecharge and MobiKwik. The shareholding of the merged entity will depend upon the valuation of these two companies.”
However both the firms have declined to comment on the news. Read more about Indian Startup Ecosystem.
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