Axis bank acquired freecharge for Rs 373 crore

The country's third largest private sector lender Axis Bank said it has acquired payments wallet Freecharge for Rs 373 crore in an all-cash deal and appointed Sangram Singh as its CEO.

Axis Bank said in a regulatory filing to stock exchanges "Pursuant to the receipt of approval for the said transaction from Reserve Bank of India, the bank has completed the acquisition of Freecharge for a cash consideration of 373.27 crore, on a cash free, debt free basis.”

Sangram Singh has been appointed as the CEO of Freecharge Payment Technologies Private Ltd.The bank had in July announced plans to acquire Freecharge subject to receipt of requisite regulatory approvals.

Axis Banks had said the acquisition will double the customer base of the bank and leapfrog its digital journey by multiple years.

Snapdeal had bought Freecharge in April 2015 for an estimated USD 400 million or over Rs 2,500 crore at current rates. At that time, this was touted as the largest deal in the nascent start-up ecosystem in India.