CIOInsider India Magazine
Pine Labs Raises $ 600 Million and Plans IPO Within 18 Months
Pine Labs Pvt. Ltd., a payment platform for merchants in India and Southeast Asia, has raised $ 600 million from some of the world's most prestigious investors, including Fidelity Management & Research Co., and BlackRock Inc., and has plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in 18 months.
According to CEO Amrish Rau, a Singapore firm offering in-store and online payment solutions, as well as prepaid, loyalty, and pay-later programs, is valued at $ 3 billion. A fund advised by Neuberger Berman Group LLC, as well as India's IIFL Finance Ltd., and Kotak Funds, participated in the round.
Pine Labs' software as a service is paid for monthly by banks and merchants, with the business getting micro-fees on every transaction. Payment services are becoming increasingly popular in Asia as smartphones become more common, benefiting companies like Pine Labs.
“It's an Indian product that's performed well in Malaysia and Singapore and is now expanding into Indonesia and Thailand. As we prepare our IPO in the next 18 months, we have a good, Ebitda-positive storey. Pine Labs IPO will most likely take place in the United States. “We want to make it a worldwide IPO because of our size and scale”, he said.
The company provides digital checkout solutions for everything from invoicing to payments and reconciliation. The Pay Later Offer targets 100 million customers in India, Singapore, and Malaysia, allowing them to pay for products such as Apple Inc. devices and Samsung Electronics Co. in three, six, nine, or twelve monthly instalments. In India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Australia, the company also runs a prepaid gift platform called QwikCilver.
“A increasing number of Asian vendors aspire to offer faster and more engaging checkout procedures,” Rau explained. They want solutions that will help them compete with the major web companies", says the entrepreneur.
According to Rau, India's fintech business is developing at a rate of roughly 50percent per year, and Southeast Asia is following suit. As businesses increase their payment alternatives, Pine Labs is growing at a rate of roughly 60percent each year.
“A increasing number of Asian vendors aspire to offer faster and more engaging checkout procedures,” Rau explained. They want solutions that will help them compete with the major web companies", says the entrepreneur.
The firm paid $ 45 million for the Fave app in April. This app presently has over 40,000 retailers and 6 million users.
After an agreement with New York-based financial services giant Mastercard, Pine Labs became the first unicorn from India last year. While the deal's specifics have yet to be revealed, but the value is estimated t be over $1.6 billion.
Pine Labs is an Indian merchant platform firm that helps with finance and last-mile retail transaction technology. It was founded in 1998 by Lokvir Kapoor. It also aids in the development of software for point-of-sale machines. Qwikcilver Solutions Pvt Ltd and Fave Asia Technologies Sdn.Bhd are the company's subsidiaries.
