Advancing a step close to Snapdeal-Flipkart merger deal, Japan-based telecom and Internent giant SoftBank has got the nod from its co-investor Nexus Venture Partners (NVP) for sale of Snapdeal to India’s largest e-commerce firm Flipkart.
“SoftBank Group has now reached an agreement with NVP to move ahead with the sale plan and the term sheet with Flipkart could be signed within this week or so, while the due diligence for the deal would commence immediately thereafter,” said the sources who are dealing with this matter.
SoftBank, the largest shareholder in Snapdeal, had secured a go-ahead from the founders and Kalaari last month. However, NVP was not in agreement over the valuation suggested by the Japanese firm and hectic parleys were held in the last few weeks to resolve the impasse.
“Snapdeal founders would get about $30 million each, while NVP could get close to $80 million stake in the merged/new entity and Kalaari could get about $70-80 million,” sources said. But when contacted about the development by a news agency, Snapdeal, SoftBank, NVP and Kalaari did not elicit any response in this matter.
However, market insiders said that the deal between Snapdeal and Flipkart, if completed, would mark the biggest acquisition in the Indian e-commerce space and change the landscape of the sector that is witnessing intense competition among players. “Indian e-commerce companies have seen funding dry up over the last few months as investors are focusing extensively on profitability and rationalisation of expenses,” they added.
Snapdeal was valued at $6.5 billion in its last funding round in February 2016. The valuation, however, has shrunk since then and the potential deal could see Snapdeal being reportedly valued at about $1 billion.
SoftBank on Wednesday said it suffered a loss of $1 billion (Rs6,500 crore) on its investment in Snapdeal during 2016-17, almost matching the money it put in the home-grown marketplace. As per regulatory filings, SoftBank currently owns over 30 per cent in Snapdeal, while Nexus has roughly a 10 per cent stake and Kalaari holds 8 per cent share in the firm.
With intense competition from deep-pocketed global rivals like Amazon, companies like Flipkart and Snapdeal could face more heat in the coming days. There have been reports that Snapdeal’s mobile wallet service Freecharge could be sold separately with players like Paytm and MobiKwik being in the fray.