Paytm's online marketplace grabs $200mn from Alibaba and SAIF Partners

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is leading a $200 million investment in Paytm E-commerce Private Limited along with another existing backer SAIF Partners.

While Alibaba Singapore E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd will invest $177 million in Paytm's online marketplace unit, rest will come from SAIF Partners, an early investor in One97, according to a filing with the Registrar of Companies.

According to an ET report, the $177 million investment takes Alibaba's stakes 62 percent higher in the company. But, according to sources, this will come down as the company "creates a large employee stock option pool to attract and retain talent."

Meanwhile, the investment will pave the way for the much-awaited entry of Alibaba into India, a market already on fire thanks to fierce competition between Amazon and Flipkart.

The development comes on the heels of the official launch of the digital payment major’s e-commerce marketplace called Paytm Mall that has been inspired from Alibaba’s widely popular business-to-consumer (B2C) marketplace T-Mall.

One97 Communications now has three units—Paytm E-Commerce, Paytm Payments Bank (payments bank and mobile wallet service) and Paytm Mobile Solutions.