Slowly and steadily, one of India’s leading digital fintech company Paytm is expanding its reach in the hyperlocal market. The company has become the majority shareholder of the entity formed through the merger of Nearbuy.com and Little Internet. Which is essential, a former take over or acquisition of the two companies by Paytm.
With the merger of Nearbuy and Little, Paytm would create one of India’s largest discovery and deals platform for local merchants. It would definitely strengthen Paytm’s offline-to-online (O2O) operations in India.
The merged entity of Nearbuy and Little have a valuation of around $100 million. They almost own the entire hyperlocal segment with a market share of 88 percent. These two companies work with over 40,000 small and large merchants across India under a dozen of categories. Some of this categories include food, restaurants, beauty, salons, gyms, spans, hotels, travel and other categories.
The combined entity would help you to find the best deals and save money on dining, shopping or travel. For merchants, they can effectively utilize the combined inventory to acquire new customers through deals. The joint entity will be headed by Ankur Warikoo, who is the founder of Nearbuy.
“This combination of Nearbuy and Little marks a great opportunity for us to reinforce our commitment to support small and large retailers in the new age of mobile commerce and Payments. I am sure consumers will love the greater selection and reach of everyday deals and discount offers,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO – Paytm.
Paytm to create India’s largest discovery and deals platform
- Paytm becomes with majority shareholder of the entity formed through the merger of Nearbuy.com and Little Internet.
- Aims to create India’s largest discovery and deals platform for local merchants.
- Would provide over 5 million merchant partners with an opportunity to offer deals to acquire new customers and grow their business.
- Customers get exciting deals across dozens of categories on the platform.
- Strengthen Paytm’s presence in the O2O space in India.
Little Internet or known popular by its deal app ‘Little’ was founded in 2015 and currently has a presence in 17 Indian cities. Two years back, Paytm has invested in the company with a $50 million funding. Nearbuy, on the other hand, is a hyperlocal deal site born from the dismantling of Groupon India operation.