Murdoch’s News Corp buys Mumbai IT startup BigDecisions

News Corp, the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media giant, has acquired the Mumbai-based startup BigDecisions.com, which helps consumers take investment calls through decision-making tools backed by sophisticated algorithms and data.

Started in early 2013 by Manish Shah, an Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad graduate, and Gaurav Roy, who got his IIM degree from Mumbai, BigDecisions.com has already helped about 40,000 people make decisions ranging from life and health insurance, retirement planning, buying and renting real estate to planning for a child's education.

The value of the deal was not disclosed; but it includes the site's parent firm FinDirect Services.

This is News Corp's second major investment in startups in recent days. In November it acquired a 25 per cent stake in PropTiger.com, a residential real estate platform for accurate and independent data and information for homebuyers in the country.

"BigDecisions.com will help Indians make the most important decisions by using accurate information tailored to their personal needs," Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp, was quoted in a release from the company.

After the acquisition, the co-founders, who have management as well as technology backgrounds between them, will help expand BigDecisions.com's operations. The company will not be merged into any of News Corp's existing businesses in India, which include Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Factiva and HarperCollins Publishers.

"The intention is to run it as a standalone business to help customers, handhold them to make better financial decisions," Shah told a newspaper.