eBay Expands Presence In India With Paytm Mall Integration

San Jose, California-based eBay is acquiring a 5.5% stake in eCommerce marketplace Paytm Mall in a renewed effort to gain ground in India’s fast-growing retail market.

The move will make eBay’s inventory accessible to tens of millions of Paytm Mall active customers in India, eBay announced in a release.

“We are deeply committed to India and believe there is huge growth potential and significant opportunity in this dynamic market,” said Jooman Park, eBay senior vice president, APAC. “This new relationship will accelerate our cross-border trade efforts in a rapidly growing market.”

Paytm Mall is part of India’s largest digital ecosystem, Paytm, which has over 450 million registered customers, over 130 million active users and over 12 million registered merchants, the release said. The new deal gives eBay sellers the opportunity to reach new customers in a rapidly growing market, while providing Paytm Mall buyers a wide selection of global inventory that would normally be out of reach locally.

“Today’s Indian consumers have expanded their horizons and now like shopping for unique products from international platforms,” said Rudra Dalmia, executive director of Paytm Mall. “We’re excited about this relationship with eBay as our cross-border partner and investor and believe together, we will provide buyers and sellers an unparalleled opportunity to discover, engage and transact on our platform.”

Details weren’t disclosed, but a source with direct knowledge of the deal told Live Mint that eBay is investing $165 million, raising the value of Paytm Mall to about $3 billion from $1.5-2 billion in 2018.

Talks between the two companies started in March. The deal with Paytm is eBay’s third investment in India after buying stakes in Snapdeal and Flipkart. eBay will continue to run its online portal in the country.