Mediatek invests US$ 60m in Paytm at US$ 4.8bn valuation

New Delhi: Taiwan-based Mediatek's investment arm Mountain Capital has invested $60 million in Paytm's parent One 97 Communications, valuing the digital payments and commerce firm at $4.8 billion, people aware of the development told TOI.The round marks almost a two-fold increase in Paytm's valuation since it last raised money from the Alibaba group in September 2015.According to people familiar with the development, the latest funding round is expected to be in the range of $250-300 million. TOI reported on August 29 that the Taiwanese chip maker was likely to lead Paytm's latest financing round.

An email sent to a Mediatek spokesperson did not elicit any response till the time of going to press while Pa ytm's founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma declined to comment on the matter. The latest fund-raise is likely to see a partial secondary sale of shares as well, but the details are being finalised. Sharma, who holds the company's payments bank licence in his personal capacity , is likely to sell some of his shares in the entity. Chinese international conglomerate and investment firm Fosun, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, Foxconn and Temasek are also in discussions with the company . Paytm's largest backer Alibaba group, which holds 40% stake in the company , and venture fund SAIF Partners, one of its early investors, are also likely to participate in the latest round.

The development comes at a time when companies have found it tough to raise fresh capital. Flipkart, for instance, has not been able to raise fresh round largely due to a valuation mismatch after it raised $700 million in July 2015 at a $15.2 billion. Another online retailer, Snapdeal managed about $50 million in new funds in February this year as part of a $200 million financing round which was mostly done as a secondary transaction where existing investors sold stakes to new ones. Snapdeal's valuation increased to $6.5 billion at the time.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.