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Alibaba and Paytm disclosed the deal in a joint statement on
Tuesday without saying how much it is worth, nor how big a stake
in Paytm the Chinese firms will acquire.
Ant Financial already acquired 25 percent of Paytm parent One97
Communications in February in a transaction that a person with
knowledge of the matter said was worth more than $500 million.
In June, Reuters reported that Alibaba Group was in advanced
talks to buy a stake in Paytm, according to two people familiar
with the matter.
At the time, one source with direct knowledge said the deal
would see Alibaba directly invest around $600 million. That
would see it and affiliated Ant Financial's total holding amount
to about 40 percent of the Indian payments firm, and value Paytm
at roughly $4 billion.
In their statement on Tuesday, the companies said the new funds
will help Paytm expand its mobile commerce and payment system in
India, as well as invest in marketing, technology and talent.
Paytm currently has more than 100 million "Paytm Wallet" users
who carry out over 75 million transactions a month, according to
the statement.
"Investing in Paytm will enhance the ability of Alibaba and Ant
Financial to tap opportunities in India's fast-growing mobile
e-commerce marketplace and digital finance industry," the
statement said.
(Reporting by John Ruwitch; Additional reporting by Nivedita
Bhattacharjee in Mumbai; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
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