PayU nabs controlling stake in PaySense, plans merger with LazyPay
Netherlands-based payments fintech PayU has announced that it will be acquiring a majority stake in consumer lending firm PaySense, at a valuation of $185 million.
PaySense will be merged with PayU’s subsidiary LazyPay
Mumbai-based PaySense will be merged with PayU’s subsidiary LazyPay, with the new enterprise expected to gain around $200 million of injected funding from its parent — $65 million of which is being immediately invested into the new enterprise in the form of equity capital over the next two years.
PayU says that the deal aligns with its “long term vision” of creating a fintech ecosystem in India via partnerships.
“Technology has the power to completely transform people’s access to financial services and the credit market in India is ripe for further digital disruption,” says Siddhartha Jajodia, global head of credit at PayU.
“This merger is the next step in our journey as we accelerate our vision for credit in India.”
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For Prashanth Ranganathan, founder and CEO of PaySense, providing access to credit for more Indian consumers is “crucial to helping individuals grow and succeed”.
He adds: “PayU is a natural partner for us as we both strive to make finance more simple, accessible and transparent. We’re excited to start bringing our personal loan product to more consumers throughout India and truly democratise credit.”
Ranganathan will lead the new credit business in India as CEO, while all other stakeholders will exit.
PayU is a subsidiary of Prosus, itself the international internet assets division of multinational firm Naspers.
The acquisitive payments company completed three buyouts in 2019; Indian mobile payments firm Wibmo, Turkish fintech iyzico, and Singapore-based firm Red Dot Payment.
