Following acquisition rumors since last month, Snapdeal has officially scooped up popular mobile payment service FreeCharge. Both the companies did not disclose the financial details of the deal but one person familiar with the deal said the acquisition cost is $450 million paid through a mix of cash and equity.
Even after the acquisition, FreeCharge will continue to work as an independent platform. The companies will collaborate to offer a seamless shopping experience to customers across both the platforms offering an even wider range of products and services. Previous Snapdeal acquisitions include Exclusively, gift recommendation site Wishpicker.com and digital financial-products distribution company RupeePower.
“With this game-changing partnership with FreeCharge, we have significantly enhanced our user base and now offer all our customers access to the widest selection of products and services online, making digital commerce an even more intrinsic part of their lives. We are thrilled to have the very talented and supercharged team of FreeCharge, under Kunal (Shah)’s leadership, working as one family, towards creating life changing experiences for buyers and sellers in our country.”
said Kunal Bahl, Co-Founder & CEO, Snapdeal.
FreeCharge which competes with PayTM has more than 20 million users and more than 85% of the FreeCharge’s transactions come through mobile phones.
“The partnership with Snapdeal comes at the right time, I foresee this as an opportunity to accelerate our road map in India and reach out to millions of users across the country. As a brand, Snapdeal has a massive recall and we are very excited to be a part of the team that is creating the biggest digital ecosystem of the country. FreeCharge’s success was enabled by a team of 200 extremely talented professionals and I would like to extend a special thanks to Alok Goel, Sandeep Tandon and a wonderfully supportive investor base.”
said Kunal Shah, Co-Founder & CEO, FreeCharge.