The e-commerce platform of Paytm known as ‘Paytm Mall’ has raised funds amounting to Rs 1500 crore from Japenese holding company SoftBank Group Corporation and its existing lender Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
According to the reports, the recent funding is a part of the funding commitment of Rs 3,000 crore that was at first announced in April. Paytm Mall has now received the third and final tranche of the deal. Alibaba and SoftBank Corp. had undertaken to invest an amount of Rs 3000 crore jointly in the Paytm Mall out of which the amount of Rs 2600 crore supposed to be invested by SoftBank and the rest Rs 400 crore by Alibaba.
Paytm Mall is a Paytm-operated e-commerce platform that operates on its own mobile application making it easy for the users to have a look on a variety of branded products across categories like fashion, electronics, consumer durables and home furnishings among others, and purchase them directly through Paytm. With Paytm Mall, the company aims to offer a unique combination of the Mall and Bazaar concepts to Indian consumers.
Softbank Group, on the other hand, is a Japan-based company founded in 1981. It initially started as a telecommunications company, but now has its presence in a number of different areas, including e-commerce, finance, broadband, marketing, and more. The company is carrying on an extensive investment campaign which is definitely ensuring its presence and importance in people’s minds.
Alibaba Group is a holding company of China which deals in e-commerce, retail, Internet, AI as well as technology. Founded in 1999, the company’s aim is to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It is also recognized as China’s biggest e-commerce company.
As stated by the sources, after the investment has been completed, the valuation of the Paytm Mall was raised to $1.6 billion to $2 billion. The investment by SoftBank Corp. in Paytm Mall is its second one in an Indian online retailer. SoftBank seems to acquire a stake of 21% in Paytm Mall after the total funding, whereas Alibaba will have a stake of 46%.