MobiKwik acquires ClearFunds

Digital payments company MobiKwik has acquired online mutual fund platform ClearFunds as it pivots towards a complete fin-tech company facing tough competition from market leader Paytm, owned by One97 Communications Ltd.

Founded in 2016, Clearfunds (Harvest Fintech Private Limited) is an online mutual fund advisory platform that claims to use data science and analysis to help investors make informed and profitable investment decisions. It claims to have $45 million in assets under management (AUM).

MobiKwik, which has a customer base of 100 million, will now sell only direct plans on its platform that comes without distributor commissions. Paytm Money, the new wealth management unit of One97 Communications Ltd, entered the mutual fund market with its own application in April this year.

The Gurugram-headquartered company will invest $15 million in its wealth management category in the next year to take on competitors like Paytm, which in turn is reportedly looking to offer shares of listed companies directly to customers. MobiKwik recently entered digital lending services by offering 90-second loans to its users in a bid to compete with Soft-bank backed Paytm.

Tech Mahindra to acquire Target Group

IT services and solutions firm Tech Mahindra has agreed to enter into an agreement to acquire Target Group, one of the leading processing platform companies in the UK. The value of acquisition is $164 Million and an adjustment for surplus cash up to GBP 8 Million.

The acquisition catapults Tech Mahindra to one of the top three processors in UK financial services for certain complex lending and investment product categories. It also strengthens Tech Mahindra European presence and adds several new clients. The acquisition will make Tech Mahindra a formidable player in the UK BFSI market with over 50 major financial institutions as clients.

The acquisition is in line with Tech Mahindra strategy of expanding its Fintech capabilities and adding IP and platforms to drive non linearity and play aggressively in the BFSI sector. Headquartered in the UK, Target Group has 740 employees and a client franchise, including leading financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley. Target Group also has a strong pipeline which provides for high earnings visibility and cash flow generation.

Target Group provides BPaaS offerings in the areas of lending and investment products servicing to its clients, on variable pricing models. The combination of proprietary software, strong regulatory compliance practice and domain knowledge is a key differentiator for Target Group. The acquisition will help Tech Mahindra to expand its offerings in the lending, savings and investment and insurance sectors.