A worthy deal between Flipkart and Snapdeal has set uncontrolled speculation over the past few weeks. Another deal like SoftBank to be a minority stakeholder in Flipkart has some fruitful conclusions.
Before the above deals come to fruition, here is something which is recent:
The deal between Flipkart and Snapdeal is not finalized yet, the discussions are going on. Flipkart’s announcement on Monday about their $1.4 billion funding was kept secret and is very critical to understand. The acquisition of eBay and Snapdeal are different.
The Tencent and Microsoft investment into Flipkart was done some months back, but Flipkart is waiting for the Snapdeal deal to get it soon. Because of that delay in Snapdeal’s deal, they announced the $1.4 billion fund raise.
SoftBank is very interested in investing in Flipkart and wants to buy Snapdeal. Flipkart is not interested in this arrangement, but is looking for investments from SoftBank. Kalaari, Nexus and the founders of Snapdeal are on the board other than SoftBank.
To sign off on the deal, SoftBank offered them $10 million but they wanted $100 million each. Flipkart is not at all interested to be a part of Snapdeal. The total Snapdeal valuation is nearly $900 million.
Bringing this discussion to an end, let us have a look at the outcomes of the Flipkart and Snapdeal alliance.
What is in it for SoftBank?
It will become a minority investor in Flipkart. 33% stake in Flipkart is already with Tiger Global. The value of their shares are up to $1.4 million and will sell to Softbank for $500 million. So Tiger Global’s stake will come down to 20%. Softbank would have spent nearly $2.5 million for a 20 percent stake in Flipkart.
The only competitor with Amazon locally is Flipkart and getting stakes in it will surely make SoftBank more successful. Other than investing in Snapdeal, SoftBank also invested in Ola and Housing. To make the future good in India, SoftBank is willing to invest in Flipkart which may give an affirmative result.
What is in it for Flipkart?
It is crystal clear that Flipkart is not interested in getting Snapdeal, but looking for an investment from SoftBank. They are willing to give Snapdeal as a gift of a deal. The Indian e-commerce giant wants the investment to compete against Amazon. If they get Snapdeal, one of the competitors will be removed in the market.
What is in it for Indian Startups?
It is good that a company is getting acquired rather that collapsing. The employees who leave the organization may worry. The negative thing for the startup ecosystem is that now raising funds will be harder.
From Alibaba’s side:
If SoftBank invests in Flipkart, Alibaba automatically comes on to the field. As everyone knows SoftBank holds about 30% stake in Alibaba. Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank also invested in Paytm and Snapdeal.
So, If Alibaba invests in Flipkart directly or indirectly it will be a tug of war between Alibaba, SoftBank and Flipkart on the one side and Amazon on the other side, in the Indian market.
