Prosus terminates $4.7 billion deal to buy BillDesk

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Dutch-based technology investor Prosus NV said on Monday its $4.7 billion deal to buy Indian payments platform BillDesk has been terminated, adding that conditions had not been met.

In a short statement, Prosus said “certain conditions were not fulfilled” by a Sept. 30 deadline and “the agreement has terminated automatically in accordance with its terms.”

BillDesk could not immediately be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for Prosus said there was no break fee associated with the deal but declined to comment on reasons for the deal’s cancellation beyond the statement.

Fintech valuations have fallen sharply since Prosus announced plans to buy BillDesk in August 2021 to complement its PayU business and strengthen its presence in India, one of Prosus’s largest markets. [L1N2Q20CB]

BillDesk processed $92 billion of payments in the year ending March 31, 2021 and had a net profit of 2.71 billion Indian rupees ($37.05 million) for that period, according to figures released at the time of the acquisition.

(Reporting by Toby SterlingEditing by David Goodman and Louise Heavens)