Affle claims victory in Indus OS stake sale lawsuit; PhonePe, OSLabs refute

PhonePe App (PC- Twitter/@PhonePe_)

Digital advertising firm Affle claims to have won the initial legal battle in a case filed against it by Walmart-owned PhonePe in a Singapore court in the Indus OS stake sale matter. PhonePe had placed a bid to acquire 92 per cent stake in Indus OS at a valuation of around $60 million. However, the biggest shareholder in the company, Affle Global Pte Ltd (AGPL), has opposed the deal.

AGPL estimates that the valuation of OSLabs, known as Indus OS, is around USD 90 million and has refused to sell its 25 per cent stake at a lower valuation. The company operates app store 'Indus App Bazaar', which comprises over four lakh apps accessible in English and 12 Indian languages — Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Odia, Punjabi, Malayalam, Bengali, Assamese and Kannada.

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AGPL had filed an injunction suit against the resolution passed by Indus OS approving stake sale to PhonePe which has been challenged by the fintech firm in a Singapore court. Both AGPL and Indus OS are registered in Singapore.

"AGPL has attended 7+ court hearings held in Singapore High Court from 19th May 2020 till 18th June 2021. As of 18th June 2021, PhonePe has clearly lost the corporate legal battle in Singapore," AGPL told PTI. However, Fintech firm PhonePe and OSLabs have refuted the claims made by AGPL that it has won the legal battle.