Deal Talk: MobiKwik looking to sell payment gateway business; Zetwerk in talks to raise $35 mn

TechCircle brings you a round-up of technology investment and M&A deals reported from across newsrooms. 

MobiKwik’s payment gateway business 

South African internet, media giant Naspers backed fintech firm, PayU, is in talks to buy MobiKwik’s payment gateway business, valuing it about $45 to $50 million, the Economic Times reports. 

The digital wallet MobiKwik, owned by MobiKwik Systems, has been trying to compete against deep-pocketed rivals Paytm, Flipkart’s PhonePe and Google Pay in a hyper-competitive fintech sector. 

The Gurugram-based company’s payment gateway subsidiary, Zaakpay, has been looking for fresh funding for a fairly long time and has held discussions with potential investors, the ET report added.

A lack of investor interest may have been the reason why MobiKwik decided to put its payment business on the block, the report cited one of the sources as saying. 

“We deny we are in discussions for an outright purchase of MobiKwik's payment gateway business,” ET quoted a PayU spokesperson as saying. Payment gateway PayU competes with the likes of Billdesk, CCAvenue and new-age player Razorpay.

MobiKwik’s co-founder and chief executive Bipin Preet Singh termed the news factually incorrect, adding “MobiKwik and its payment gateway Zaakpay are in fact fundraising,” the report added.

In July, MobiKwik raised $1.27 million from venture debt firm Trifecta Capital and broadcaster NDTV.

Zetwerk

Zetwerk, an online marketplace that connects buyers and suppliers for manufacturing jobs, is in talks to raise $35 million as a part of its series B equity financing round. Venture capital firms Lightspeed Venture Partners and Greenoaks Capital will lead the latest round, Mint reported citing sources.

“The Series B round will also see participation from its existing VC investors, Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners and Kae Capital," the report quoted one of the sources as saying.

In March, the Bengaluru-based company had raised $9 million as part of its Series A round from venture capital firms Sequoia India, Accel and Kae Capital.

Prior to this, the company had raised $1.2 million in a seed round in August 2018.

The startup was founded in June 2018 by Amrit Acharya and Srinath Ramakkrushnan. The company connects mid-to-large original equipment manufacturers from India and Southeast Asia.