PhonePe acquires WealthDesk, OpenQ for $75-M

Walmart controled payments firm PhonePe will buy two wealth management firms: WealthDesk for about $50 million and OpenQ for nearly $25 million. The acquisitions will help PhonePe widen its offerings in a lucrative payments market where tech giants including Google, Amazon and SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Paytm compete. WealthDesk allows customers to invest in stocks and exchange traded funds. OpenQ also offers retail and institutional investors trading baskets and investment analytics services. PhonePe, founded in 2015 and led by Sameer Nigam, became part of Walmart after the retailer's acquisition of Flipkart Group in 2018. Flipkart owns about 87% stake in PhonePe, while its parent Walmart owns about 10%.