Global investment firm KKR & Co and General Atlantic LLC are reportedly exploring a potential investment in Flipkart’s digital payments arm, PhonePe Pvt. Ltd.
PhonePe is a new player in India’s growing digital payments market but has grown quickly over the last couple of years from $1.5 billion in 2017-18 to approx. $10 billion in 2019. With investors like Tiger Global and Tencent already showing interest in PhonePe, the payments business has emerged as an integral part of Flipkart’s overall strategy.
The booming market of digital payments, as well as the rise of start-ups in India, are key factors behind such lofty valuations. According to IDC Financial Insights report, digital transaction will surpass cash transaction in India by 2022.
For PhonePe, this is a great opportunity to build a consortium of investors who are likely to invest fresh funds in the coming years as its plans to take on Paytm and Google pay by enhancing its both online and offline presence.
For KKR, this forms a part of the PE firm’s strategy to add more tech-focused investments in India as it plans to expand and diversify its India portfolio.
Providing several digital payment services like peer-to-peer transfer, recharges, bill payments and gold purchases, among others, as of December 2018, PhonePe has already crossed a billion transactions.