07 October 2017, India:
Axis Bank Ltd said it has completed the acquisition of mobile wallet firm Freecharge and appointed Sangram Singh as its CEO.
Freecharge presently has a revenue of about Rs80 crore. Snapdeal had bought Freecharge in April 2015 for an estimated $400 million or over Rs2,500 crore at current rates as per the report by The Mint.
“Pursuant to the receipt of approval for the said transaction from Reserve Bank of India, the bank has completed the acquisition of Freecharge for a cash consideration of Rs. 373.27 crore, on a cash free, debt free basis,” Axis Bank said in a regulatory filing to stock exchanges.
Freecharge was started in August 2010 by Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon. It is one of India’s top payments app. Customers across the country use FreeCharge to make prepaid, postpaid, DTH, metro recharge and utility bill payments for numerous service providers.
Freecharge was at its peak in 2015 with a valuation of $400 Million. It hit a roadblock last year when it failed to capitalize demonetization. Rival, Paytm went in all guns blazing and its fortune turned overnight as the company scaled new heights.
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