One97 Communications, the India-based e-commerce company that operates mobile payment platform Paytm, is in talks with investors for a $300m round that will value it at $3bn, Bloomberg reported yesterday.
Fabless semiconductor producer MediaTek is set to lead the round, which will value One97 at $5bn, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who said the round will include e-commerce firm Alibaba, its payments affiliate Ant Financial and venture capital firm SAIF Partners.
The round will also include funding from investment bank Goldman Sachs and Singaporean state-owned fund Temasek, two persons with knowledge of the development told the Economic Times. Conglomerate Fosun is in advanced talks to join the round in the upcoming weeks, according to Bloomberg.
One97 was founded in 2000 and oversees a range of online services including chat, ticket and hotel booking, music, video and mobile marketing, but its most valuable subsidiary is Paytm, the mobile payment platform it launched in 2010.
The round comes as One97 is looking to separate Paytm from its e-commerce activities, which will be conducted by a newly formed vehicle called Paytm E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd.
Paytm has successfully applied for an online banking licence and expects to begin operating banking services in the next few months. One97 founder Vijay Sharma is set to also divest his 51% stake in Paytm Payments Bank to existing investors including strategic backers Alibaba and Ant Financial.
One97 raised about $90m through 2014 from Intel Capital, the corporate venturing arm of semiconductor technology provider Intel, SAIF Partners, Silicon Valley Bank and SAP Partners, the VC firm spun out of enterprise software producer SAP.
Ant Financial reportedly invested $575m in February 2015 at a $2.3bn valuation, before Alibaba and Ant Financial added a combined $680m in September, which included $375m left over from the February investment. They currently each own 20% of One97.