India’s Billing Processor BillDesk Looks For Buyers

Indian payment gateway BillDesk, which controls over half of the business clients in the country, is looking to sell off its business after a previous unsuccessful attempt two years ago, LiveMint.com reports.

The company is making a change this time, looking at selling off its entire company, unlike the previous attempt.

The reason is the increasing amount of competition in the digital payments service field, buoyed India’s now-thriving eCommerce field, according to people with knowledge of the matter who spoke with LiveMint.

Those sources said at least eight investment bankers have received calls from both the company and its biggest investor General Atlantic, discussing the shortlisting of a suitor. The banks in talks for awarding a final sales mandate include Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, one source said.

One of those sources said there was space in the Indian market for “a complete, end-to-end, integrated payment system,” as global players in the payment industry have been making their ways into India’s economy.

“That’s like an asset that no one has been able to build in India so far,” the person said, according to LiveMint.com.

Aside from the burgeoning scene there, BillDesk has also been lagging behind competitors in its ability to offer an end-to-end payment suite, and private equity investors, including General Atlantic, have been gravitating to companies that can offer customer-facing digital payment and eCommerce services.

In addition to that, commission income for BillDesk and all other payment aggregators has come down. The Reserve Bank of India has brought all of them under its purview, introducing new strict regulations.

Visa bought stake in BillDesk last year, which had the effect of introducing the company into India’s elite group of unicorns.

The investment, a minority stake and one of many Visa investments around the world, aided BillDesk in creating new loyalty and payments, growing its footprint.