Fintech unicorn Pine Labs has raised $100 Mn from US-based investment management company Invesco, which appears to be the pre-IPO round that Pine Labs was planning to raise before it hits the US stock market next year.
The new funding comes just months after it raised $600 million in two tranches from a host of global and domestic investors, which valued the firm at $3.5 billion. Pine Labs’s valuation in its latest round could not be immediately determined.
ET reported earlier that the firm had appointed Wall Street bankers Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to steer its US listing and was in talks with investors to raise $100 million. Sources said the firm is eyeing a valuation of $6 billion for its IPO. The Noida-based firm is backed by Sequoia Capital, Temasek Holdings, Actis, PayPal and Mastercard, amongst others.
Also, Read This: Digital Payment Service Provider Pine Labs Has Closed Its Current Funding Round At USD 600 million
Founded in 1998 by Lokvir Kapoor, Pine Labs enables large and mid-sized businesses in Asia and Middle East to accept digital payments. The startup further provides merchant commerce solutions including enterprise automation systems such as customer relationship management and inventory management. It is the third-highest-valued fintech firm in India behind Paytm and PhonePe.
Pine Labs cloud-based platform helps 140,000 merchants, 3.5 lakh PoS (point of sale) terminals across 3,700 cities and towns in India and Malaysia. More than 15 major banks, seven financial institutions and more than 100 brands are a part of Pine Lab’s platform that processes payments worth $30 Bn every year.
These startups are going public at a time when more Indians are opting for digital payment options for its convenience and to prevent the spread of the contagious COVID-19 virus. As per a report by ACI worldwide, India retained the top spot in terms of digital transactions worldwide with 25.5 Bn real-time payments transactions, followed by China, South Korea and Thailand.
Risk investors, both global and domestic, have flocked to the sector in India amid regulatory constraints in investing in China. Late last month, Prosus acquired digital payments processor BillDesk in a $4.7-billion all-cash deal.
Also, Read This: PayU Acquires Mumbai-based BillDesk For USD 4.7 billion To Bolster Its Fintech Business
