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Micromax was one of the first home-grown companies to get into the smartphone race. Cut to now, the company is already one of the largest players in the business and also has a sub-brand called as Yu Televentures. But this is not news; the news is that the company is now looking to pump in $400 million in Indian start ups. 
 
While talking to PTI, Micromax co-founder <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/Rahul-Sharma" target="_blank">Rahul Sharma</a>, said "Going ahead, we will invest in not less than 20 start-ups, where we see synergies. We are looking at building an ecosystem of connected devices and offer customised experience to users”. 
 
The very first company that has benefitted from this move is Bangalore-based start-up HealthifyMe, which is an app in fitness space and also offers a wearable. If the chances of Micromax making a wearable product has been just a rumor till now then things are sure to speed up with this latest development. 
 
Without divulging on the investment details, Micromax has categorically stated its intentions to look beyond mobile and smartphones in the coming years. This development falls in line with promise made by Micromax co-founder, Rahul Sharma who talked up the prospect of funding startups which will enable the brand to differentiate from what it has been doing all these years. 
 
 Democratising has been part of Micromax’s strategy since the start of 2015. While they have been present in the television space for a while now, they recently announced themselves in the PC+ segment with first-ever Micromax branded 2-in-1 Windows device. 
 
By investing its energy and efforts into HealthifyMe, Micromax could be angling at the wearable segment in a discreet way and now that people are getting to know all about a fitness gear, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to have Micromax making wearable debut in the coming months. 
 
Either that, or Micromax will utilize HealtifyMe’s prowess to develop software ecosystem that will be provided on future Canvas devices. Whatever be the case, it will be interesting to see if Micromax vies for some heated action against the likes of Xiaomi Mi Band.

Micromax turns messiah for startups, eyeing 20 companies to
pump $400 million

<keyword id="1568267" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Alibaba-Group-Holding">Alibaba Group Holding</keyword> is in talks with India's <keyword id="400990" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Micromax-Informatics">Micromax Informatics</keyword> to buy an about 20 percent stake in the smartphone maker, helping the Chinese e-commerce giant expand in one of the world's fastest growing markets for the devices, several people with direct knowledge of the matter said. 
 
The deal, if completed, would see Alibaba investing as much as $1.2 billion in Micromax, the second-largest smartphone brand in India by sales, at up to $6 billion, two of the people said. India is the world's third largest smartphone market and was the fastest growing in the Asia Pacific region in the third quarter of last year, according to industry research firm International Data Corporation. 
 Micromax and Alibaba began talks on the stake sale after discussions with investors led by Japanese telecoms firm <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Softbank">Softbank</keyword> Corp stalled over differences in valuations, the sources said. "The Softbank talks are not officially over, but it'll be hard to get back on track," said one of the people. Softbank is the largest shareholder in Alibaba. 
 
All the sources involved in the process declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media about ongoing talks. Micromax, SoftBank and Alibaba declined to comment. 
 
The sources said Alibaba wants to use the Micromax deal to tap into the boom in the number of internet users in India, which is also one of the world's most rapidly growing smartphone markets. 
 
Growth in India, and especially in mobile transactions, would help Alibaba offset stiff competition at home from domestic rivals including JD.com Inc, as well as what appears to be growing e-commerce user saturation. 
 
Strong revenue from mobile transactions helped the company report a 45 percent increase in quarterly revenue on Thursday. 
 
"The talks are centered around using Micromax devices as a platform to get into a serious business of its own in India," said one of the sources, referring to Alibaba. 
 Alibaba, for example, would be able to roll out services such as Alipay, its online payment platform, on Micromax phones. Ant Financial Services Group, which owns Alipay, is China's largest payment service provider and is controlled by Alibaba's executive chairman and founder <keyword id="424838" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Jack-Ma">Jack Ma</keyword>. 
 
The stake sale is aimed at helping Micromax raise capital as it expands into new business segments including personal computing. 
 
The company is seeking funds from private investors, or a possible stock market listing, its co-founder told Reuters. 
 Micromax started up in India in 2008, and its affordable, large-screen phones are now the country's most popular after <keyword id="10591" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Samsung">Samsung</keyword> Electronics Co Ltd smartphones. Micromax counts <keyword id="122716" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sequoia-Capital">Sequoia Capital</keyword> and TA Associates among its investors.

Alibaba is interested in buying stake in Micromax! That's big for the Indian company

A change of <keyword id="6386905" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="guard">guard</keyword> in mobile maker, <keyword id="71696" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Micromax">Micromax</keyword>’s management team has pushed up some notable changes. It’s soon climbing up at no. 2 position in terms of sales and becoming India’s largest home-grown manufacturer of mobile phones, Micromax is keen on selling a 25% stake to a consortium led by Ant <keyword id="6354241" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Financial-Services">Financial Services</keyword> Group, China's leading online financial services company that owns Alipay. As per a news report by The Economic Times, Micromax has been valued at around $4-5 billion (approximatelyRs 24,000-30,000 crore). 
 The ET report states, Alipay, China's top online payment solution company and part of the <keyword id="163405" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Alibaba-Group">Alibaba Group</keyword>, is bringing in two to three partners. The proposed deal would see both infusion of capital and exits, partial or total, by existing investors, said the people quoted earlier. An exit will give existing investors significant returns on their investments, sources known to the ET has confirmed. 
 
TA Associates, for instance, currently owns 15% in Micromax, for which it paid around Rs 225 crore five years ago when the company was valued at around Rs 1,500 crore. 
 However, bringing the deal to fruition would partly depend on resolving differences that are said to have cropped up between the company's promoters and its <keyword id="6364480" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chairman">chairman</keyword> Sanjay Kapoor, a former <keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword> of Bharti Airtel's Indian business, over the company's future direction. The four founder promoters — Rahul Sharma, Rajesh Agarwal, Sumeet Kumar and Vikas Jain — own a little less than 80% of the company. 
 
A person having knowledge of the deal confirmed that the "new guard", mainly Kapoor, feels that Micromax should focus mainly on online sales, but the promoters differ, noting that 70% of its revenue still comes from offline, or traditional retail channels. "There are also disagreements over the positioning of the phones and technology adoption. Kapoor believes Micromax should increase its average selling price while promoters feel there is still immense potential in the mass market," one of the people aware of the fact told the financial daily. Despite the differences the deal with Ant Financial Services is on track, said the people cited above. 
 
While Alipay and Micromax have declined to comment, the latter, in an emailed statement on behalf of the company, its promoters and the chairman, added that Kapoor continues to be its chairman and an integral part of the company. 
 One of the people aware of the development has said, to compete with market leader <keyword id="10591" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Samsung">Samsung</keyword> and China’s fast growing Xiaomi, the Indian phone makers need something in unique like Alipay to survive the cut-throat competition. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

Micromax is striking a rather lucrative friendship with China’s Alipay. Know how

From 25% to 40%! Well, that’s a giant leap. And with an aim to be a major player in India’s ecommerce, China’s Alibaba group is keeping no stones unturned. Having increased the stake in India e-tailer Paytm, Alibaba has strengthened its foothold. 
 
As per a news report by The Economic Times, Alibaba, which first bought stake at Paytm early this year, is negotiating to invest over $600 million (Rs 4,000 crore) to pick up a 20 per cent additional stake. 
 
The fresh investment, which subsumes an outstanding tranche of the previous transaction under which Alibaba Group was to have pumped in another $375 million, will see Paytm being valued at $3.7 billion (Rs 23,600 crore) on a post money basis, a 270 % increase on the $1-billion valuation in the previous funding round, once again underlining the red-hot nature of India's ecommerce sector. Valuations have been soaring in this space, best exemplified by sector leader Flipkart, which raised money in May last year at a valuation of $1 billion and is now in the market to raise fresh funds at a target value of $16 billion. 
 
"Paytm is expected to be Alibaba's ecommerce play in India. The plan is to create an ecosystem through companies that have large consumer touchpoints," source familiar with the deal tol d the ET, adding that the fresh funds would be used to expand operations. 
 
The deal is expected to catapult Paytm into the big league of Internet marketplaces alongside Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon India, with its backing by Alibaba, the $200-billion behemoth, giving it both expertise and staying power in an intensely competitive business. The financial contours of the transaction being negotiated could see existing investor Saif Partners dilute its equity to 32 per cent from 37 per cent while Paytm's founder and Chairman &amp; Managing Director Vijay Shekhar Sharma could reduce his shareholding to 21-22 per cent from 27 per cent now, the source said. 
 
Alibaba Group with this investment will become the biggest shareholder in the company, although Vijay Shekhar Sharma, 37, who founded One97 that owns Paytm will still own more than what his founder peers in rivals Flipkart and Snapdeal own in their firms. Representatives of the Alibaba Group and Paytm declined to comment while an emailed query to Saif seeking its response did not elicit any response. 
 
"As a matter of company policy, we decline to comment on market rumours and speculation," an Alibaba Group spokesperson told the ET in response to a query seeking confirmation. "We decline to comment on market speculations," a spokesperson of Ant Financial, a financial arm of Alibaba told the ET. Paytm and One97 founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma also declined to comment. 
 
 
Alibaba’s vision is clear. In India, Alibaba wants to create an ecosystem of mobile devices, operating systems, electronic payment solution and services such as entertainment and commerce on top of the ecosystem. To that end, the company is in talks to invest about $700 million in mobile phone maker Micromax, ET reported on June 25. The handset vendor in turn is looking to invest up to $400 million to buy into startups, creating a bouquet of services for its buyers and at the same time adding to Alibaba's ecosystem. Micromax has already picked up minority stake in Bengaluru-based health and fitness company 'HealthifyMe' in May, and is looking to make nearly 20 such investments this year.

Alibaba buys 40% stake at Paytm

<keyword id="2544278" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Alibaba-Group-Holding-Limited">Alibaba Group Holding Limited</keyword> is not investing in the Indian startups for the first time. After investing in Micromax and Snapdeal, now the company is making a strategic investment in Paytm, India’s largest mobile payment &amp; commerce platform. But the group is not alone. Ant Financial, who had its initial investment in Paytm in February 2015, has also joined the party. Both of the companies are making a strategic investment in Paytm to tap opportunities in India’s fast-growing mobile e-commerce marketplace and digital finance industry. 
 
This fresh capital infusion will allow Paytm to achieve scale and develop its vibrant mobile commerce and payment ecosystem in India and invest in marketing, technology and talent. Ant Financial has been developing synergies with Paytm since its initial investment in February of this year. Ant Financial’s further investment in Paytm with this transaction demonstrates the company’s confidence in India’s digital payment sector. Ant Financial and Paytm will continue to capitalize on opportunities in mobile wallet to offer Indian consumers comprehensive products and services and to tap the significant potential of the India mobile payment market. 
 Through a fresh issue of shares by investing about $680 million (around Rs4,450 crore), Alibaba will become the biggest <keyword id="6388677" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="shareholder">shareholder</keyword> in the company as it will hold 40% through two entities. The stakes of the previous investor, Ant Financial, will be lowered to 20%. It had picked up a 25% stake for $575 million in February. 
 This transaction further demonstrates the commitment of Alibaba, the largest online and <keyword id="3079383" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mobile-Commerce-Company">mobile commerce company</keyword> in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume, to continue to internationalize its e-commerce business. 
 Eric Jing, President of <keyword id="2568656" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ant-Financial-Services-Group">Ant Financial Services Group</keyword> said, “Ant Financial has worked seamlessly with Paytm in the past few months and our technical teams have developed significant improvements on the user experience for Indian consumers. Ant Financial and Paytm will collaborate to capture mobile payment opportunities in India. We believe that Paytm, as a leader in this field, is best equipped to build a mobile payment ecosystem in the country.” 
 
Daniel Zhang, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group said, “India is an important emerging market with strong e-commerce potential, and we look forward to partnering with Paytm to deliver innovative products and services to consumers. Supporting the success of local homegrown entrepreneurial companies has long been an important part of Alibaba Group’s globalization strategy. This investment will further expand Alibaba Group's global footprint to India’s thriving mobile commerce market.” 
 
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Paytm said, “Paytm is building India's most dominant mobile payment and commerce ecosystem. With the Alibaba and Ant Financial partnerships, we look to bring half a billion Indians to the mainstream economy and help millions of small businesses leverage this large m-commerce opportunity. This investment by Alibaba and Ant Financial is a reaffirmation of their belief and commitment to the long term Paytm opportunity.” 
 
Citi acted as exclusive financial advisor to Paytm on this transaction. 
 
Paytm’s business has grown rapidly and robustly since Ant Financial initially invested in Paytm in February 2015. Ant Financial has also been offering strategic and technical support to the company. Paytm has recently crossed 100 million Paytm Wallet users who carry out over 75 million transactions every month. With this major achievement, Paytm has inched closer towards its larger vision of bringing half a billion Indians to the mainstream economy.

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Micromax turns messiah for startups, eyeing 20 companies to pump $400 million

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Alibaba is interested in buying stake in Micromax! That's big for the Indian company

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Micromax is striking a rather lucrative friendship with China’s Alipay. Know how

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Alibaba buys 40% stake at Paytm

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Alibaba becomes 40% stake owner in Paytm

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