Infibeam to buy Snapdeal’s Unicommerce in Rs 120-cr deal

Ahmedabad-based Infibeam on Monday said it will acquire Snapdeal's subsidiary Unicommerce, which offers ecommerce enablement software, in a deal worth up to Rs 120 crore.

"Under the agreement, Infibeam will issue optionally convertible debentures on preferential basis to Jasper Infotech valued up to Rs 120 crore, subject to shareholders' approval," Infibeam said in a statement.

In a BSE filing, the ecommerce firm said its board had approved acquisition of the entire share capital of Unicommerce from existing shareholders -- Jasper Infotech (which operates Snapdeal) for a consideration "other than cash".

"Through Unicommerce, we plan to boost our ecommerce enablement capabilities and expand the product offerings for existing clients... This acquisition would help us further create a comprehensive ecommerce solution by offering extended capabilities to transact with other leading online marketplaces," Infibeam Managing Director Vishal Mehta said.

He added that the deal will also be pivotal for the growth of the company's fast growing GeM (Government e-Marketplace) business.

"We are deeply committed to the growth of Unicommerce, fully support the current management team and plan to further invest in the business," he said.

Jason Kothari, chief strategy and investment officer at Snapdeal, said the sale of Unicommerce is a "continuation of the Snapdeal 2.0 plan to divest and focus on our core consumer e-commerce business".

The transaction is expected to close in three-five months.

Last year, Snapdeal dumped a $950-million takeover offer from Flipkart, with Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal saying the company will pursue a fresh strategy in the Indian market.

As a part of this Snapdeal 2.0 plan, it has sold its payment services unit Freecharge to Axis Bank for Rs 385 crore, while its logistics arm -- Vulcan Express -- was acquired by Kishore Biyani's Future Supply Chain Solutions in an all-cash deal valued at Rs 35 crore.

According to Infibeam's filing, Unicommerce eSolutions had a net worth of Rs 24.63 crore and turnover of Rs 20.27 crore as on March 31, 2018.

Founded in 2012, Unicommerce offers ecommerce enablement software for warehouse management and omni-channel services and has over 10,000 sellers, brands and online retailers as its clients.

"The line of business of the target company (Unicommerce) is similar to Infibeam... The acquisition would result in growth in merchants and revenues from Infibeam Web Services," the filing said.

Besides, the board has approved change in the name of the company from Infibeam Incorporation Ltd to Infibeam Avenues Ltd, subject to shareholders' and other statutory approvals.