Paytm E-Commerce to Raise $200 Million From Alibaba, SAIF Partners

Paytm E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd, the marketplace arm of One97 Communications Ltd, is raising $200 million in a fresh round of funding led by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, documents filed with Registrar of Companies show.

Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba, will invest $177 million in Paytm’s e-commerce arm, along with $23 million by SAIF Partners, the documents show.

Bloomberg had reported in February that Alibaba is in talks to lead a $200-million round that will value Paytm’s marketplace at $1.1 billion, making its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma a unicorn, twice over.

Following the deal, Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce will have a shareholding of 36.31 percent in Paytm E-Commerce, while SAIF Partners India will own 4.66 percent, according to the documents.

Paytm did not respond to an email seeking comments.

Paytm had last year split its e-commerce business from its larger payments unit, creating two separate entities, Paytm E-Commerce and Paytm Payments Bank Ltd.

Earlier this week, Paytm had also launched a separate app and website for its online marketplace business, Paytm Mall, which has over 17 fulfilment centres across the country.

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Battle For Dominance

The investment will also mark Alibaba’s formal entry into India’s struggling e-commerce market and will provide Paytm the much-needed fuel to take on India’s largest online retailer Flipkart and Amazon.com Inc.

Amazon had announced last year that it will invest $3 billion more to step up its business in India. Flipkart and Snapdeal are also in talks to raise fresh funds.

(This article was first published on BloombergQuint.)