Alibaba is close to pouring in another $600 million for 20% stake in Indian firm One97 Communications, which owns and operates the rapidly-growing mobile commerce platform Paytm. In February,
Alibaba's financial arm Ant Financial picked a 25% stake in Paytm. If the deal goes through, Alibaba will own 40% stake in One97, emerging as the largest stakeholder in the Indian
startup, two sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.
The latest funding round would value Paytm at close to $4 billion on a post money basis. An inside source
told The Economic Times that Paytm will be Alibaba's play in the fiercely competitive Indian e-commerce market. The Chinese giant plans to create an ecosystem through
investments in companies that have large consumer footprints. Alibaba issimultaneously negotiating
to invest over $600 million in India's largest smartphone maker Micromax.Read the whole story at ValueWalk.com »