Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has acquired BigDecisions.com which aims to help Indian consumers make smarter financial decisions through interactive, decision-making tools powered by sophisticated algorithms and data.
News Corp acquired Big Decision plus its parent company, FinDirect Services Pvt Ltd. This deal comes just weeks after the firm acquired a 25% stake in PropTiger, a real estate platform.
“Our latest investment builds on our abiding belief that a digital India needs more trusted, reliable and independent data,” said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp. “BigDecisions.com will help Indians make the most important decisions by using accurate information tailored to their personal needs. This platform will be high quality, privacy-protected and easy-to-use.”
News Corp’s operations in India include Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Factiva and HarperCollins Publishers businesses.
Started in early 2013 by Manish Shah and Gaurav Roy, and operating until recently as bigdecisions.in, the BigDecisions.com platform has already helped some 40,000 users make better-informed decisions. Following the acquisition, both co-founders will help oversee a significant expansion of the Mumbai-based BigDecisions.com team as well as its consumer offerings. They will report to Raju Narisetti, News Corp Senior Vice President, Strategy.
Mr. Shah, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, spent a decade with Citigroup in India and the US, in a wide range of roles in the unsecured lending, wealth management and mortgage businesses. In his last role, he was head of new initiatives with AEGON Religare Life Insurance. Mr Roy is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and XLRI Jamshedpur, with diverse experience across management consulting, financial services and technology. He has worked at Arthur Andersen, KPMG, Wipro, Bharti AXA, and AEGON Religare.
This acquisition is also an indication that India’s internet market is finally coming of age to the interest of global investors and businessmen.
