Prosus, a Dutch company that is the international internet assets division of South African multinational Naspers, is set to acquire Indian digital payments provider BillDesk for US$4.7 billion.

The proposed acquisition will see PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus, to meet the changing payments needs of digital consumers, merchants and Government enterprises in India.

PayU India and BillDesk will be running complementary businesses within India’s digital payment industry.

Together, the two expect to create a financial ecosystem handling four billion transactions annually which is four times PayU’s current level in India.

Prosus added that it will offer state-of-the-art technology to excluded sections of society, while adhering to the regulatory environment in India and delivering robust consumer protection.

The agreement builds on previous successful acquisitions by PayU in India, including CitrusPay, Paysense and Wibmo.

Bob van Dijk, Group CEO of Prosus said,

“We’ve invested close to US$6 billion in Indian tech to date, and this deal will see that increase to more than US$10 billion.

 

BillDesk exemplifies the ambition and expertise of Indian entrepreneurs, who are among the best in the world, with exceptional abilities to build products and services and understand scale and value.”

M N Srinivasu, Co-founder of BillDesk said,

“This investment by Prosus validates the significant opportunity in India for digital payments that is being propelled by innovation and the progressive regulatory framework put into place by the Reserve Bank of India, India’s central bank.

 

We are excited about what the two great teams at BillDesk and PayU can deliver together as a driving force within the evolving digital payments landscape in India.”