Snapdeal sale: SoftBank hopes Nexus Venture to come on board

Japan’s  SoftBank, which is the largest investor in Snapdeal, is hopeful that it will get approval from co-investor Nexus Venture Partners to sell Snapdeal to India’s largest ecommerce firm, Flipkart.

According to sources, SoftBank recently succeeded in getting Kalaari Capital to agree to the deal, but is yet to get Nexus Venture Partners on board for the same. This should come through in the next one or two weeks and the deal may get announced next month, they added.

Jasper Infotech, which operates Snapdeal, has a seven-member board. It includes representation from investors SoftBank, Kalaari Capital and Nexus Venture Partners, as well as co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal.

Analysts say that if the acquisition is completed, it would mark the biggest acquisition in the Indian ecommerce space and change the landscape of the sector that is witnessing intense competition among players. Nexus and Kalaari, who were early-stage investors in Snapdeal are not satisfied with the valuation by Snapdeal’s largest shareholder, SoftBank. With Kalaari in tow now, SoftBank needs Nexus’ approval to take the deal through.

Snapdeal was valued at $6.5 billion in its last funding round in February 2016. The valuation, however, has shrunk since then, and the potential deal could be struck at a discounted rate.