Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma to acquire Raheja QBE

Paytm, India’s largest digital payments company, and its cofounder and chief executive, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, have reached an agreement to acquire insurance company Raheja QBE for $76 million. The insurer, which is owned by Prism Johnson (51%) and QBE Australia (49%.), offers health, home, auto, and commercial insurance products.

Paytm, whose services are used by tens of millions of Indians each month, said that it currently is in the process of acquiring 100% stake in the company.

“It is an important milestone in Paytm’s financial services journey, and we are very excited to welcome Raheja QBE General Insurance into the Paytm family. Its strong management team will help us accelerate our journey of taking insurance to the large population of India with the aim to create a tech-driven, multi-channel general insurance company with innovative and affordable insurance products.” – Amit Nayyar, President of Paytm.

“Today’s announcement marks both a continuation of QBE’s strategy to simplify our business and the beginning of a new & exciting chapter for our strong team at Raheja QBE.” – QBE Australia Pacific Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Vivek Bhatia

“We are happy to announce the sale transaction of our entire 51 percent stake in Raheja QBE General Insurance Company Limited. Our decision to sell our stake in Raheja QBE is in line with our mission to create sustainable shareholder value and will enable us to focus our resources on our core businesses. This move will help the insurance business scale up to new heights by leveraging the large customer base and innovative products offered by Paytm. I would like to thank Raheja QBE’s management team and all the employees for their strong contribution and commitment over the years and wish them every success.” – Vijay Aggarwal, Managing Director Prism Johnson Ltd.