Merchant commerce startup Pine Labs has received approval from a Singapore court to merge its local entity with its Indian unit, allowing the company to shift its operations to India. This move follows a trend among Indian startups, such as Meesho, Zepto, Flipkart, Razorpay, and Udaan, who are also considering relocating their domiciles to India.
One of the main reasons for this shift is the limited coverage that startups with valuations below $20 billion receive from analysts in developed markets. This lack of coverage results in limited demand from institutional investors. In contrast, India offers a premium for tech companies due to high demand. Entrepreneur Gokul Rajaram has also observed a similar trend with software companies in India.
By merging its entities and transferring assets and properties, Pine Labs aims to achieve business synergies, economies of scale, cost savings, and simplification of its shareholding structure. This strategic move is expected to enhance the company’s operations and position it for further growth in the Indian market.
Pine Labs is a valued merchant commerce startup backed by prominent investors such as Peak XV, Fidelity, Invesco, Temasek, PayPal, and Alpha Wave. The company offers various products and services to merchants, including cloud-connected point-of-sale machines and working capital solutions. With its valuation exceeding $5 billion, Pine Labs is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for tech companies in India.
The approval from the Singapore court marks a significant milestone for Pine Labs as it solidifies its plans to shift its operations and domicile to India. While the company has not made any comments regarding this development, the court order disclosed in a recent regulatory filing indicates that Pine Labs is actively working towards executing this strategic move.
Overall, Pine Labs’ decision to merge its entities and shift its operations to India reflects the increasing importance of the Indian market for tech startups. By leveraging the demand for tech companies in India, Pine Labs aims to achieve greater success, business synergies, and cost savings in its new domicile. As more Indian startups consider a similar move, it will be interesting to see how the tech ecosystem in India evolves and whether this trend continues to gain momentum.
