Payments infra firm Infibeam Avenues to acquire majority stake in Rediff

Rediff, which claims to attract about 38 million monthly visitors, reported a turnover of Rs 36.07 crore as on March 31, 2024.

Payments infrastructure firm Infibeam Avenues has entered into a definitive agreement for a 54.1 percent stake in internet business firm Rediff India.

The internally-funded cash acquisition worth Rs 25 crore will allow Infibeam, which currently offers payment gateway and software services to businesses, to diversify its offerings and increase user engagement.

This includes Rediff’s cloud-based enterprise email storage, instant messaging platform, content distribution and related commerce services for merchants and consumers. Currently, its mail service is used by over 5,000 companies, it added.

Rediff, which claims to attract about 38 million monthly visitors, reported a turnover of Rs 36.07 crore as on March 31, 2024.

The firm is expected to provide data insights into user behaviour, preferences, and spending patterns for Infibeam to cross sell financial products.

“Rediff’s user base offers fertile ground for cross-selling financial products using artificial intelligence such as loans, insurance, and investment products. Rediff Money can use the platform to promote these services, increasing product uptake and offer customer lifetime value,” the company said.

Ajit Balakrishnan, chairman & CEO of Rediff, will continue to work in the capacity of an advisor to the firm.

"I am delighted to pass on this iconic brand and its legacy into the capable hands of Vishal Mehta (Infibeam Avenues). I strongly believe that the new avatar of Rediff under his leadership will further strengthen the company and accelerate business growth.”

Adding to this, Mehta, chairman and managing director of Infibeam Avenues, said, “We are poised to cement our position as a leader in the dynamic landscape of digital finance aggregation, cloud storage and content distribution. With this synergy, we are poised to unlock new dimensions of growth, redefining the essence of cloud and fintech engagement.”

On August 2, Infibeam reported a 2.76x jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 69.6 crore in the June quarter (Q1FY25) from Rs 25.4 crore in the year-ago period.

The revenue from operations rose 1.4 percent to Rs 752.7 crore compared to  Rs 742.3 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

The  Transaction Payments Volume (TPV) rose by 67 percent YoY, reaching Rs 1.97 lakh crore during the said quarter, which saw addition of 2,550 new merchants (daily average). The firm had over 1 crore merchant accounts by the end of FY24, it said.

The firm also roped in former SBI Pension Funds MD  and CEO Narayanan Sadanandan as independent director on the board.