Pine Labs buys Bengaluru-based Qwikcilver for $110mn

Singapore-based merchant platform firm Pine Labs on Tuesday announced it has acquired Bengaluru-based gift card solutions provider Qwikcilver for $110 million.

The combined gift solutions business will be the largest in India with a customer base of over 250 brands and retailers and 1,500 enterprise customers, the company said in a statement.

"According to market estimates, gift, as a category, is growing at a high double-digit rate annually. Qwikcilver's technology and market expertise will help us scale up this business," said Vicky Bindra, Chief Executive Officer, Pine Labs.

Pine Labs processes annualised payments of $20 billion.

Founded in 2006, Qwikcilver is a full-stack gift card service provider, powering nine out of every 10 gift cards in the country and managing an annualised gross transaction value of $1.5 billion across India, Middle East and South East Asia.

"With Pine Labs, we have the potential and ability to significantly scale the gift card category and drive consumer adoption with novel products and solutions," added Kumar Sudarsan, Co-Founder and CEO of Qwikcilver.

Pine Labs started its own gift solutions business "Pine Perks" four years ago.

Today, Pine Perks gift cards are used by 600 organisations across banking, insurance, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, FMCG and telecom industries.

Kumar will join the Pine Labs leadership team after the completion of the transaction.

Pine Labs' investors include Sequoia India, PayPal, Temasek, Actis Capital, Altimeter Capital, Madison India Capital and Sofina.

--IANS

na/bc