<article>Leading digital payments firm <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/paytm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paytm </a>has signed a non-binding agreement to acquire <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/softbank" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoftBank</a>-owned rival <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/freecharge" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Freecharge</a>, said a Times of India <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/paytm-may-cut-value-of-freecharge-by-80/articleshow/58620073.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report </a>quoting sources.</article>

Leading digital payments firm <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/paytm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paytm </a>has signed a non-binding agreement to acquire <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/softbank" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoftBank</a>-owned rival <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/freecharge" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Freecharge</a>, said a Times of India <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/paytm-may-cut-value-of-freecharge-by-80/articleshow/58620073.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report </a>quoting sources.
According to the report, the deal could see a drastic fall in the valuation of Freecharge, whose parent company <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/snapdeal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Snapdeal</a> has been under tremendous financial stress. If the deal materialises, it may value Freecharge at $50-90 million compared with the $400 million Snapdeal paid for it two years ago.
&#8220;The funding deal with SoftBank for Paytm does not have Freecharge as a rider, but if Paytm is satisfied with the due diligence, it will likely agree to buy Freecharge since the price has come down drastically,&#8221; said one of the sources cited in the report.
It was earlier reported that SoftBank had reached out to potential buyers including Paytm to sell the digital payments platform at a discounted rate of $150-200 million. However, buyers were not willing to pay more than $100 million, said the news report.
Founded by Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon in 2010, Freecharge is one of India&#8217;s leading digital wallet firms along with <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/mobikwik" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mobikwik</a> and <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/alibaba" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alibaba</a>-owned Paytm.
Many reports have been doing the rounds about a Freecharge sale, including Mobikwik eyeing a merger with it.
It was also reported that global payments platform <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/paypal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PayPal Holdings Inc</a> was close to acquiring a 25 per cent stake in Freecharge for around $200 million.
SoftBank has reportedly been at loggerheads with the other investors at cash-crunched Snapdeal over future plans for the e-commerce firm that has been trying to curb its financial bleeding by exiting non-core operations and cutting expenses including downsizing staff.
In March, Snapdeal appointed former <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/housing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Housing.com</a> head Jason Kothari as the CEO of Freecharge and announced an investment of $20 million in the digital payments firm.
Also Read:
<a style="color: #ff0000;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/69636-69636/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India: Softbank in talks to sell Freecharge at half the price at $200m</a>
<a style="color: #ff0000;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/70973-70973/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India Digest: Mobikwik eyes merger with FreeCharge; Kalaari agrees to Snapdeal sale</a>
<a style="color: #ff0000;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/india-snapdeal-to-invest-20m-in-freecharge-names-jason-kothari-as-ceo-67962/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India: Snapdeal to invest $20m in Freecharge, names Jason Kothari as CEO</a>
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Paytm may value Freecharge at $50-90 million compared with the $400 million Snapdeal paid for it two years ago, according to a news report. 

India: Paytm likely to acquire rival Freecharge at 80% discount

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India: Paytm likely to acquire rival Freecharge at 80% discount

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