Rediff plans to raise $100 mn to expand email, payments services

Internet company Rediff is exploring options, including an initial public offering, to raise up to $ 100 million (around ₹875 crore) to accelerate its push into enterprise-grade email, business productivity suite and digital payments, according to sources.

The company, which is majority owned by financial technology company Infibeam Avenues Ltd, is considering options such as launching an IPO, private placement, or through private equity participation to raise capital, sources privy to the development said.

The board of Rediff.com is currently evaluating fundraising options and is expected to finalize the structure in the coming weeks, they said. However, the IPO option has a high chance of being chosen by management for its $ 100 million fundraising, sources said.

When contacted, Rediff Senior Vice-President for Corporate Development, Ashish Mehrota, said, Yes, our company explores various fundraising options from time to time. At this stage, we do not have anything specific to share, but we are evaluating options.

Sources said that the company will use the funds to accelerate its push into enterprise-grade email and business productivity suite -RediffOne, and digital payment - RediffPay.

Infibeam has been investing aggressively in data centres, AI platforms, and now, sovereign digital services all areas where Rediff is expected to play a central role, sources said. The firm had launched its AI-powered productivity suite RediffOne last year and looks to offer similar services that global majors like Microsoft, Google, and Zoho are offering, sources said.

While almost all major productivity suites Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Zoho are headquartered in the US or elsewhere in the West, Rediff remains the only large-scale Indian player in this category.

The company claims over 20,000 businesses currently use Rediffmail Enterprise, in addition to millions of individual users on its flagship email platform.