Friday, 19 April 2024
Axis Bank appoints Sangram Singh as CEO of Freecharge
Axis Bank has completed the acquisition of digital payments platform Freecharge for Rs 373.27 crore in an all-cash deal.
"Pursuant to the receipt of approval for the said transaction from Reserve Bank of India, the bank has completed the acquisition of Freecharge for a cash consideration of 373.27 crore, on a cash free, debt free basis," Axis Bank said in a regulatory filing to stock exchanges.
The bank has also appointed Sangram Singh as the CEO of Freecharge Payment Technologies Private Ltd.
This acquisition was first announced by Axis Bank in July this year. At the time, the bank had said the acquisition will double the customer base of the bank and it will run the platform as a separate entity, retaining FreeCharge's 200-member team. Freecharge presently has a revenue of about Rs 80 crore.
Snapdeal had bought Freecharge in April 2015 for an estimated $400 million, which was the largest deal in the startup ecosystem in India at the time.
Once described as Snapdeal's crown jewel by its chief executive Kunal Bahl, parent Jasper Infotech was eyeing a valuation of close to $1 billion for FreeCharge, however the reversal in the fortunes of Snapdeal had a drastic effect on the company which saw its volume and value of transactions fall sharply in recent months.
Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker from The Economic Times
