The ecommerce arm of Indian fintech giant Paytm has raised $445 million from Japan's Softbank and China's Alibaba.
Softbank is pumping $400 million into Paytm Mall, while Alibaba is contributing $45 million - a year after it took a majority stake in the unit through a $177 million investment. The deal values Paytm at nearly $2 billion, with Alibaba holding a 46% stake and Softbank a 21% slice.
With its huge mobile payments userbase and Alibaba's ecommerce nous, Paytm Mall is aiming to become a major player in India's ecommerce sector, taking on the likes of Amazon and FlipKart.
Says a Softbank statement: "We believe Paytm Mall’s offline-to-online operating model, combined with the strength of the Paytm ecosystem, is uniquely positioned to enable India’s 15 million offline retail shops to participate in India’s e-commerce boom."