Synopsis
Digital payments major Pine Labs has acquired ecommerce enabler Shopflo Technologies for Rs 88 crore, aiming to strengthen its online merchant offerings. This strategic move allows Pine Labs to expand its reach into the mid-market and small business segments, intensifying competition with rivals like Razorpay and PayU.Listen to this article in summarized format
The acquisition will strengthen Pine Labs’ product offerings for online merchants as it scales this business and competes with players such as Razorpay, Cashfree and PayU.
In a filing with the stock exchanges, Pine Labs said its board has approved an investment of Rs 88 crore ($9.4 million) for a 100% stake in the New Delhi-based startup.
Founded in 2021, Shopflo works with 1,000 D2C brands, offering capabilities such as payment checkout, discounts, loyalty programmes and other features. It also provides a payment orchestration platform that enables brands to route transactions in a way that reduces payment failures.
In 2022, Shopflo raised around Rs 24.5 crore ($2.6 million) in seed funding from Better Capital, Tiger Global Management and TQ Ventures. All existing investors will exit the company as part of the deal. “This is our first investment after going public and will be fully funded through internal accruals,” said Amrish Rau, chief executive officer of Pine Labs. “Even before going public, we had around Rs 1,100 crore in cash.”
Rau said Pine Labs Online has grown 100% year-on-year over the past three years, focusing on large enterprises and bill payment clients. With this acquisition, the company will also target the mid-market and small business segment, where competitors such as Razorpay have a strong presence.
The three cofounders of Shopflo — IIT graduates Priy Ranjan, Ankit Bansal and Ishan Rakshit — will step down from their executive roles after the acquisition. They will remain associated with the company in an advisory capacity.
Shopflo will continue to operate independently, with headcount expected to increase to around 65. Pine Labs Online will have a team of about 400 people following the acquisition, Rau said.
Pine Labs had earlier acquired Setu in 2022 to strengthen its bill payments and online payments operations.
The company is yet to announce its March quarter results, and Rau did not share any forward-looking guidance on the revenue impact of the acquisition.
According to filings with the corporate affairs ministry, Shopflo reported revenue of Rs 15.5 crore in FY25 and a net loss of Rs 3 crore. Pine Labs reported a profit of Rs 42 crore on operating revenue of Rs 744 crore in the December quarter, up 23% on year.
