Mobikwik raises $50 million in fresh funding from foreign investors

One MobiKwik Systems, which owns and operates online recharge and mobile wallet MobiKwik, has raised about $50 million (Rs 332.6 crore) in fresh capital, in a new round led by Japan’s GMO Payment Gateway and Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company MediaTek. The Series-C round, which closed last month, also saw participation from the company’s existing investors […]

The Series-C round, which closed last month, also saw participation from the company’s existing investors Sequoia Capital and Asia-focused hedge fund Tree Line Asia. The post-money valuation of the company, however, was not disclosed.

“MobiKwik is excited to have raised an undisclosed amount in the Series-C round of funding led by GMO and MediaTek. GMO is Japan’s leading payment gateway and MediaTek is the world’s leading semiconductor company,” a company spokesperson said, while offering no comment on the specifics of the deal. In March, MobiKwik’s CEO Bipin Preet Singh had told that the company was looking to raise between $40-$50 million.

“We are open to strategic investors who don’t want to control the company, or use the wallet within a closed group,” he said..

This was after media reports, which quoted MobiKwik Senior Executives, emerged in which Senior Executives stated that the company was looking to raise between $80 million and $100 million. Singh was reported as saying that MobiKwik would look to dilute a 25% stake at a valuation of $400 million.

According to a statement released by GMO Payment Gateway, the company has made the investment through GMO Global Payment Fund, a $15-million fund, backed by major financial institutions, including, credit card issuers and acquiring banks, and which targets investment opportunities among payments companies throughout Asia, with a strong focus on South East Asia.

“…The use of mobile wallets, which enable payments for purchases at online shops, utilities, and physical stores through the use of a smartphone or other type of mobile phone, is becoming a standard alternative method of payment to cash, and the size of this market is expected to grow to $6.6 billion by 2020,” the comply-issued statement said.

Source: The Economic Times