The biggest M&A, i.e. Merger & Acquisition deal in the Indian FinTech space, has been entitled tainted Naspers-owned Prosus has terminated the $4.7 billion deal, acquiring India’s foremost payments aggregator BillDesk.
The deal between PayU, the India business of Prosus, and BillDesk was declared on 31st August 2021 and approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 5th September 2022. However, approval from RBI was awaited; the process took at least 45 days.

On the termination of the agreement, Prosus, in a statement, said: “Certain conditions weren’t satisfied by 30th September 2022, and the contract has terminated inevitably following its terms, and the proposed transaction won’t be implemented.” Perhaps, this is the first time a large deal in which organisations had signed requisite agreements has been annulled after getting the anti-competition authority’s endorsement. Prosus remains dedicated to the Indian market and is developing its existing businesses within the region, the company said.

Industry sources are imputing the global collapse and the changing regulatory scenery to terminate India’s start-up ecosystem’s second-largest M&A transaction. Till now, Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart in a $16-billion deal has been the largest. Tech stocks across the globe have witnessed a huge fall, and start-ups have increased. In the case of Prosus, the rethink might be ongoing early this year as the subsidy winter set in and it saw one of its largest investments in China’s Tencent getting wedged.

In September, Naspers declared the paring of its stake in Tencent. The company enthused shares worth $7.6 billion for market trading on Hong Kong’s clearing and settlement system. Despite the Promoters of BillDesk’s repeated attempts, it couldn’t be reached for comments. Proses was a long-term investor and operator in India, building $6 billion in Indian Tech companies since 2005. Other investments include Meesho, Byju’s, DeHaat, Mensa Brands, and Good Glamm Group.