PayU’s $4.7 billion BillDesk acquisition finally approved by CCI

• ByStartupStory     |    September 6, 2022

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved PayU’s $4.7 billion acquisition of online payments business BillDesk, according to a tweet from the antitrust authority on Monday evening. This took place after a year of waiting for the Prosus-owned PayU, which has had to address many queries from the regulator since the news of the acquisition was announced in August 2021.

After receiving CCI approval, PayU India stated that the proposed transaction required new examination by the CCI of dynamic digital marketplaces.  Prosus is certain that this BillDesk purchase will have major pro-competitive effects on the Indian economy and will enhance the Indian digital payments system, which is completely regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. The  CEO of PayU India, Anirban Mukherjee, told that this BillDesk purchase by PayU is also in accordance with India’s Digital India vision and will help Indian merchants, government institutions, and customers. 

CCI had requested further details on the agreement and its ramifications from PayU, according to ET in February of this year. The transaction, which is expected to be the second-biggest in the Indian internet industry after Walmart’s $ 16 billion acquisition of ecommerce powerhouse Flipkart in 2018, will entail the combination of two of the country’s leading companies’ payments gateway businesses, according to sources. ET says, PayU filed a new merger notification in April of this year after CCI declared its first submission unlawful due to a lack of appropriate information. PayU filed a new merger notification in April of this year after CCI declared its first submission unlawful due to a lack of appropriate information.

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