Press Trust of India
New Delhi: Online marketplace Snapdeal is in talks to raise $500 million from a group of investors including China’s Alibaba, Softbank and Foxconn. The latest round of funding could be announced in the next few weeks, according to sources. The new round would value the city-based eCommerce platform at about $4-5 billion, they said. Snapdeal has, so far, raised more than $1 billion, from investors including Japanese telecom giant Softbank ($627 million or Rs 3,762 crore) and former Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata (personal investment).
When contacted, a Snapdeal spokesperson said: “This is a speculation and as a policy we do not comment on speculations”. SoftBank spokesperson declined to comment, while Foxconn and Alibaba did not respond to emailed queries. Earlier this year, talks between Alibaba and Snapdeal to raise a similar amount had fallen apart due to high valuations being sought by the homegrown online marketplace.
PE firms and angel investors are aggressively funding start ups and Internet-led businesses in India, targeting higher returns in the years to come. Rivals Flipkart and Amazon have also committed to invest about $8 billion over the next few years in India, where eCommerce is growing at a blazing pace, driven by affordable smartphones and increasing Internet penetration. Recently, Foxconn founder Terry Gou had said India is a key market this year for his group. SoftBank, too, has been aggressively investing in India acquiring stake in Internet-led businesses like Snapdeal, Ola and OYO Rooms.
