Snapdeal raises $200 mn led by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Online market place Snapdeal has raised USD 200 million from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and other investors as it looks to add more muscle to compete with likes of Amazon and Flipkart.

The latest fund-raising follows USD 500 million raised last August from Alibaba Group, SoftBank and Foxconn. Founded in 2010, the Softbank-backed firm has Snapdeal has over 2.75 lakh sellers on board.

"We see these investments as a continuing endorsement of Snapdeal's strategy to build India's most reliable and frictionless commerce ecosystem," Snapdeal Chief Financial Officer Anup Vikal said in a statement.

The company continues to make targeted investments in building internal and external capabilities to consistently deliver optimal experience, he added.

Ontario Teachers' is Canada's largest single-profession pension plan with USD 154.5 billion in net assets. Since its establishment as an independent organisation in 1990, it has built an international reputation for innovation and leadership in investment management and member services.

Iron Pillar is a venture capital fund focused on filling the gap for mid stage technology investments in India. In August, Snapdeal had raised USD 500 million (about Rs 3,269 crore) from Chinese firm Alibaba Group, Taiwan's Foxconn and Japan’s SoftBank.

Existing investors, including Temasek, BlackRock, Myriad and Premji Invest, also participated in this round.

The company has raised over USD 1.5 billion so far including funding from Softbank (USD 627 million) and Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata (personal investment).

PE firms and angel investors are aggressively funding startups and internet-led businesses in India, targeting higher returns in the years to come.

Rivals Flipkart and Amazon have also committed to invest about USD 8 billion over the next few years in India, where e-commerce is growing at a blazing pace, driven by affordable smartphones and increasing internet penetration.

The investments are being made in areas like logistics and infrastructure as well as new technologies to enhance customer experience.