Electronic payments company Ingenico yesterday agreed to acquire India-based payments processing firm TechProcess for Rs 6bn ($88.6m), providing an exit to technology producer Nokia’s investment unit, Nokia Growth Partners (NPG).
NPG held a 5% stake in TechProcess, having reportedly invested $6m in 2011, according to deals database CrunchBase. The company’s largest shareholder was private equity firm W Capital Partners, which owned a 30% stake according to the Economic Times.
Other exiting investors include ICICI Venture Capital, the venture capital arm of financial services firm ICICI Bank, as well as Battery Ventures, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and New Vernon Partners (a 15% stake each), and Greylock Partners (5%).
Founded in 2000, Techprocess operates two payments services: an electronic bill payments platform called Billjunction and a mobile payments gateway service dubbed Paynimo that is aimed at consumers and merchants.
The acquisition, expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, will support Ingenico’s expansion across India, and in the long term facilitate cross-border services. Ingenico also manufactures point-of-sale terminals and holds a market share of about 50% in India.
Philippe Lazare, chairman and CEO of Ingenico, said: “Based on its already leading position in terminal market, Ingenico Group is making, with the acquisition of Techprocess, a major step in India, the fastest growing country in Asia.
“The combination of our assets places us in a unique position to benefit from India’s shift towards electronic payment transactions and to strengthen our leadership in Indian instore and online payment acceptance.”