Housing, Snapdeal deny deal rumors, but here’s why I have trust issues

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For the past couple of days, the Indian startup community has been buzzing with rumors of yet another imminent deal, fueled, as it so often happens, by a media report.

This time, it’s about talks between ecommerce company Snapdeal and real estate startup Housing.

Investment banker sources told The Hindu BusinessLine that talks of a buyout by Snapdeal have been on since December, and the deal could be finalized for as much as US$50 million to US$100 million.

According to the article, Snapdeal and Softbank (a common investor in both) refused to comment, but Housing denied the development. When Tech in Asia asked, both companies flatly denied any rumors.

“Housing.com is performing very well, and we are steadily moving towards our vision of becoming the most trusted platform to buy and sell homes in India. We are not in any talks with Snapdeal for a sale. This is completely untrue and inaccurate,” a Housing spokesperson said in an email. That is the same statement the startup shared with the Hindu BusinessLine (HBL).

Snapdeal backed that. “There are no talks with Housing,” a spokesperson from the company said on the phone.

Tech in Asia could not independently verify any deal talks between the two companies.

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Like any reporter covering startups will tell you, companies denying potential deals or big announcements is no novelty in the industry across the world – and especially not in India.

Recently, Flipkart was caught short after months of denying rumors of a top executive quitting the company. The news eventually got validated by both the executive and the company itself.

CommonFloor, a Housing rival that got bought by Quikr denied the development on its blogpost – until, of course, the buyout was announced seven months later.

See: Consolidation in real estate: Quikr and CommonFloor merge to kill Housing