Home-grown online marketplaces Flipkart and Snapdeal’s investors are taking the lead and leaving no stone unturned to make their India investments profitable. From laying out the terms & conditions to looking out for other acquisition-worthy companies, the white collared financiers are doing it all.
Looks like the work on Flipkart and Snapdeal merger is progressing really well. The Bansals-founded company recently appointed leading global investment banking firm Goldman Sachs as an advisor for the acquisition deal. Swiss financial MNC Credit Suisse is acting as Snapdeal’s advisor.
Goldman Sachs along with Credit Suisse has been entrusted with the responsibility to draft terms and conditions for the merger between these two ecommerce biggies. Their priority would be to zero down on an agreement which benefits both the companies and its investors. Because if doesn’t then stakeholders won’t co-operate. The deal is expected to be signed in the next few weeks, confirmed a source.
Softbank was said to be the one spearheading Snapdeal sale talks with Flipkart. It was hit by a temporary roadblock when early investors Kalaari Capital and Nexus Venture along with co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal weren’t ready to toe the line.
Now that the investors and co-founders are preparing for the merger, Softbank is moving on to its next plan. The Japanese MNC want to buy a substantial stake in Paytm.
The plan is to invest approximately $1.4 – $1.9 billion in exchange of 20% stake in Paytm. It would make Softbank the third largest investor of Alibaba-backed Paytm. If the deal materializes then Softbank would manage to acquire shares in two of the top India-born ecommerce firms Flipkart and Paytm, besides Snapdeal.
A person close to the development confirmed by saying, “A potential transaction is still a few months away.”
It is interesting to note that Softbank’s CEO Masayoshi Son and Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma go back a long way. Softbank’s investment would also bring Paytm’s valuation at over $7 billion.
The Japan-based investor’s priority is to close the Flipkart deal. But the MNC is actively looking to spread its presence in India’s ecommerce industry.
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