Ratan Tata’s investment arm RTN capital will back Alibaba affiliated financial giant Ant Financials with $150 Mn investment, business daily Economic Times reported. The investment will be part of the series C round that has already brought investment of worth $14 billion to Alibaba owned subsidiary company.
The other high profile investors that participated in the round are GIC, Temasek, Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Silver Lake and General Atlantic.
Following series C round, Ant Financials market valuation has propelled to whopping $150 billion, surpassing Uber’s valuation of $70 Bn. This technically makes Ant Financials world’s most valued startup as well as world’s most valued private technology company.
Owing to Ant Financials astronomical valuation, RTN capital will reportedly get only 0.1% stake in the company.
Sources claimed that one of the reasons Alibaba affiliated company wanted Mr. Tata to come on the board is latter’s unscathed reputation in India. Something that the financial giant will seek to leverage while expanding its business across the Indian market.
Ant Financials massive success is owing to its flagship product Alipay, which is one of the world’s largest smartphone and online payment platform. Currently, nearly 400 Mn subscribers use Alipay as against 210 Mn subscribers using Paypal. However, Tencent funded WeChat Pay claims to have largest subscription base with over 600 Mn subscribers.
Ratan Tata – one of the leading investors in startups
Ever since putting down his papers as Executive Chairman of Tata Group, Ratan Tata has been on a crusade to nurture and support startup ecosystem in the country. The veteran entrepreneur has so far invested in 25 promising Indian startups including well-known startups like Ola, Axio biosolutions, CureFit, Aditazz, and Cardekho.
However, until RTN’s investment in Ant Financials, Mr. Tata has been largely mute as far as Investment in foreign startups are concerned.