Pine Labs to acquire Qwikcilver for Rs 750 crore

Payment and gift card technology firm Pine Labs Tuesday said it has signed an agreement to acquire its peer firm Qwikcilver for USD 110 million or about Rs 750 crore.

The transaction has been funded from the company's cash reserves and additional funding from existing investors, it added.

"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 and we are delighted to welcome it into Pine Labs," said Vicky Bindra, chief executive officer, Pine Labs, said in a statement.

Qwikcilver, which was founded in 2006, offers nine out of every 10 gift cards in the country and manages an annualised gross transaction value of USD 1.5 billion across India, Middle East and South East Asia.

Pine Labs started its own gift solutions business - Pine Perks - four years ago which is used by 600 organisations across banking, insurance, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, FMCG and telecom industries.

"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 statement.

Pine Labs claims to process annualised payments of USD 20 billion.

"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," Kumar Sudarsan, co-founder and CEO of Qwikcilver said.

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