Snapdeal reaching end game, sale seems imminent

Snapdeal c0-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl. Photo credit: Snapdeal.

• Investors of troubled Indian ecommerce company Snapdeal, once valued at US$6.5 billion, have cleared the way for a potential sale of the company to either Flipkart or Alibaba-backed Paytm.
• SoftBank has expressed interest in buying stakes of Kalaari Capital and Nexus Venture Partners and giving a payout to the founders. The price is still being negotiated.
• A bone of contention is the price of Snapdeal. Alibaba is unwilling to pay even a billion for it. The best deal may be an all-stock sale to Flipkart at a valuation of US$1 billion.
• There has been a spate of reports about the troubles at the Indian ecommerce site. Its Japanese investor SoftBank wrote down its investment in November. Snapdeal subsequently laid off hundreds of employees and cut back on operations as it struggled to raise funds.

Source: Mint

See: Thrillers to tragedies: India’s failed ecommerce pioneer on what ails Snapdeal

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