Prosus has scrapped the $4.7 billion acquisition of BillDesk it announced last year, once stated to be the European technology giant’s largest, saying certain conditions were unfulfilled in a surprising move a month after the proposed acquisition received from the local antitrust watchdog the approval to proceed.
Amsterdam-listed Prosus says certain conditions precedent were not fulfilled by the 30 September 2022 long stop date, and the agreement has terminated automatically in accordance with its terms and, accordingly, the proposed transaction will not be implemented.
The investment arm of Naspers which has invested close to $6 billion in India, thanks to large bets on edtech Byju’s and food delivery startup Swiggy has lost more than half of its market cap since early last year.