<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/58109270.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
 <keyword id="212412" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tencent">Tencent</keyword>, <keyword id="6357395" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="eBay">eBay</keyword>, and <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> have made investments aggregating to $1.4 billion in <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, India’s leading online marketplace. The latest funding round from the three global technology giants, at a post-transaction valuation of $11.6 billion, adds to an existing group of marquee investors that include Tiger Global Management, Naspers Group, Accel Partners and DST Global. 
 
Flipkart announced the feat in a blog post. 
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
	
		Proud to announce the largest investment in <a href="https://twitter.com/Flipkart">@Flipkart</a> history ! <a href="https://t.co/ktwy39H3WW">https://t.co/ktwy39H3WW</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TencentCorp">@TencentCorp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/eBay">@eBay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Microsoft">@Microsoft</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlipkartBigWin?src=hash">#FlipkartBigWin</a>
	— binnybansal (@binnybansal) <a href="https://twitter.com/binnybansal/status/851364335268057088">April 10, </a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
	&#xa0;</blockquote>
Tencent, a leading provider of internet value-added services in China, joins as a strategic investor, bringing experience in linking social networking and e-commerce. Tencent will lend significant expertise to Flipkart as it furthers its leadership position across the e-commerce market in India. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/exclusive-an-angel-investor-whose-midas-touch-with-crypto-currency-is-redefining-the-future-of-start-up-investments/articleshow/58062121.cms">ALSO READ: Exclusive: An Angel investor whose Midas touch with Crypto-currency is redefining the future of start-up investments</a> 
 
“This strategic partnership enables Tencent to participate in the exciting opportunities in e-commerce and payments in India. We look forward to helping Flipkart to deliver compelling experiences to users throughout India, and to contribute to the development of the internet ecosystem there,” said Martin Lau, Tencent President. 
 
<keyword id="161767" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="eBay-India">eBay India</keyword> is now part of the <keyword id="3515858" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="flipkart-group">Flipkart Group</keyword> 
 
The investment by eBay is accompanied by a strategic commercial agreement with Flipkart. In exchange for an equity stake in Flipkart, eBay is making a cash investment in and selling it's eBay.in business to Flipkart. eBay.in will continue to operate as an independent entity as a part of Flipkart. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/exclusive-ace-angel-investor-sanjay-mehtas-true-life-experiences-that-makes-his-investments-in-startups-fool-proof/articleshow/58061818.cms">ALSO READ: Exclusive: Ace Angel Investor Sanjay Mehta’s true-life experiences that make his investments in startups fool-proof</a> 
 
<keyword id="2969294" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart-eBay">Flipkart eBay</keyword> “The combination of eBay’s position as a leading global e-commerce company and Flipkart’s market stature will allow us to accelerate and maximize the opportunity for both companies in India,” said <keyword id="375695" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Devin-Wenig">Devin Wenig</keyword>, President, and CEO of eBay Inc. 
 
Flipkart and eBay have also signed an exclusive cross-border trade agreement, as a result of which customers of Flipkart will gain access to the wide array of global inventory on eBay, while eBay’s customers will have access to unique Indian inventory provided by Flipkart sellers. Thus, sellers on Flipkart will now have an opportunity to expand their sales globally. 
 On its ten-year odyssey, the Flipkart Group has grown to encompass <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword> and Jabong, India’s leading online fashion destinations, and PhonePe — the leading UPI-based app that provides a cashless and seamless payment experience. Flipkart’s success has also emboldened a generation of Indian startups and entrepreneurial ventures, fanning the zeal of entrepreneurs and attracting big investments in the sector.

Flipkart announces raising $1.4 billion from Tencent, eBay & Microsoft, and acquires eBay India

The deal between <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and <keyword id="6357395" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="eBay">eBay</keyword> India will be finalised by the latter half of the 2017. EBay invested $500 million in Flipkart. India is not the first market that eBay is exiting. Devin Wenig, CEO at eBay, said, "We-'re committed to winning in India through this partnership.” EBay will close the deal and upon deal close, it will no longer report active buyer GMV and related financials for eBay India. "We do not expect the GMV or financial impact to be material to our overall 2017 results. However, we do expect to remove approximately 4 million buyers from our active buyer reporting,” said Scott Schenkel, chief financial officer at eBay. Recently, eBay along with Microsoft and <keyword id="212412" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tencent">Tencent</keyword> pumped in $1.4 billion into Flipkart. The deal included sale of eBay.in to Flipkart and an exclusive cross-border trade agreement. eBay had entered the Indian market in 2004 but failed to capitalise on its first-mover advantage and eventually lost out to Flipkart and Amazon. eBay had picked up a significant stake in Delhi-based online retailer <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> in 2013, a part of which it still holds.

Flipkart-eBay India deal to close in second half of the year

<keyword id="3749718" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="softbank-vision-fund">SoftBank Vision Fund</keyword> has become one of the largest shareholders in <keyword id="6354742" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> as it just raked in a significant amount of investment in the company. This investment in Flipkart is a mix of primary and secondary capital. The investment comes after <keyword id="541988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Snapdeal">Snapdeal</keyword> cancelled the acquisition deal with Flipkart. Flipkart has also raised capital from three other companies - Tencent, eBay and Microsoft. Now, Flipkart will have in excess of $4 billion of cash on balance sheet. India has a thriving Internet market with close to 500 million Internet users and as per market research, the Indian e-commerce market is expected to grow at a five-year CAGR in excess of 30 percent. “This is a monumental deal for Flipkart and India. <keyword id="163404" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="SoftBank">SoftBank</keyword>’s proven track record of partnering with transformative technology leaders has earned it the reputation of being a visionary investor. We’re excited to welcome the Vision Fund as a long-term partner as we continue to build our business with a focus on serving the needs of all Indians, and driving the next phase of technology adoption in India,” said <keyword id="6364080" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="binny-bansal">Binny Bansal</keyword> and <keyword id="225032" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="sachin-bansal">Sachin Bansal</keyword>, co-founders, Flipkart.

Flipkart bags huge investment from SoftBank Vision Fund; it has over $4 billion in cash now

Japanese investor <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword> has pumped in about Rs 1,675 crore in fresh <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> in Indian transportation startup <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> to give it more muscle to take American rival Uber head-on. SoftBank subsidiary SIMI Pacific Pte picked 12,97,945 shares valued at Rs 10 at a premium of Rs 12,895 in ANI Technologies -- which runs Ola -- filings with the Registrar of Companies showed. The allotment of shares was done in November last year, it added. 

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The latest funding, however, is believed to have come at a lower valuation. According to sources, the move comes at a time when Softbank is working on selling <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, an e-commerce platform it invested heavily in India, to larger rival Flipkart. The Bengaluru-based firm was aggressively looking at raising funds to compete with Uber, the world's most valuable start-up. After selling its Chinese business to Didi last year, Uber has now set sights on India making it one of its top priorities. 

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Though Indian Internet companies have seen a boom in user base, their valuations have come down as investors are now focussing on path to profitability and building a sustainable business model. Flush with private equity and venture capitalist money, many start-ups continue to have high burn rate that has been a concern for investors. Earlier this week, India's largest e-commerce firm Flipkart raised USD 1.4 billion from Tencent, eBay and Microsoft in a round that saw its valuation fall from USD 15 billion to USD 11.6 billion now.

SoftBank pumps in Rs 1,675 crore in Ola

At a time when Indian ecommerce scenario is undergoing turmoil, <keyword id="6354742" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> has taken over the rein of the market by becoming the third most funded private company in the world. <keyword id="6355311" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="japan">Japan</keyword>’s telecom giant <keyword id="163404" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="SoftBank">SoftBank</keyword> has funded 2.4 billion USD recently and this has certainly established Flipkart in the new position. Till date, Flipkart has raised almost 7 Billion USD in capital. This is much higher than <keyword id="719382" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airbnb">Airbnb</keyword> ($3.3 Bn) and <keyword id="874458" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Xiaomi">Xiaomi</keyword> ($1.4 Bn). Flipkart having achieved this feat is now trailing behind China’s <keyword id="3141620" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="didi-chuxing">Didi Chuxing</keyword> and Uber in the <keyword id="6355055" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="USA">USA</keyword>, both of which are cab hailing services. Didi Chuxing has raised 5 Bn USD and increased its total fund to $15 Bn in April. In the top 10 list of privately funded companies of the world, India’s Ola is also there. The Flipkart funding reaffirms the faith of global players like SoftBank, Tiger Global, eBay , and <keyword id="10387" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> in Indian companies, according to a report in The Economic Times. "Since Flipkart has been the flag-bearer for the local ecosystem, this reinforces the positive belief around the long-term India opportunity," <keyword id="514036" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="nitin-sharma">Nitin Sharma</keyword>, principal and founding member at early-stage VC fund Lightbox told ET. The VC ecosystem, he said, eventually needs to show a large-value creation event, and seeing SoftBank, Tencent and others go long should allay some of the concerns that had been dampening the sentiment locally and giving global investors some pause.

This Indian e-commerce is the world’s third most funded private company

Online retail major <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>, headquartered in Seattle, has crossed $2 billion in its investments in India, after it infused another Rs 1,680 crore in its main local unit <keyword id="2654766" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon-Seller-Services">Amazon Seller Services</keyword> last month. After this round, its total capital invested in India stands at over Rs13,800 crore ($2.1billion). This makes Amazon the second largest global investor in India's digital economy, next only to <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword> Group. The Japanese group has so far invested about $4 billion in its India operations. "There are few areas <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword> is targeting now - they want to grow big in fashion. The focus is also on growing Prime membership for next six months and keeping the user engaged. Part of the infusion will be directed to Prime content development," <keyword id="1671153" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Satish-Meena">Satish Meena</keyword>, senior forecast analyst at <keyword id="151787" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Forrester-Research">Forrester Research</keyword>, told <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/amazon-crosses-2-billion-mark-in-india-investments/articleshow/59463903.cms">ET</a>. Some part of this money could also be used to strengthen the network before the upcoming festive season, which sees the biggest sales in India’s e-commerce space. "They are gearing up for Diwali and the usual investment in logistics and warehousing will continue. This year, the competition is only from <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>," said Meena. Amazon would continue to infuse capital into India in a six to nine month interval for the next two to three years, so that it can be ahead of the rivals. Amazon’s biggest rival in India, the Flipkart group, has recently raised a round of $1.4 billion funding, led by Chinese internet conglomerate <keyword id="212412" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tencent">Tencent</keyword> and US technology corporations eBay and <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword>. This round took Flipkart’s total capital raised till date to a whopping $4.6 billion.

Amazon has invested more than $2-billion in India so far

<keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> has completed the process of acquiring the Indian arm of <keyword id="6357395" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="eBay">eBay</keyword> and now eBay.in will be a Flipkart Group company. Flipkart announced it will buy eBay.in in April this year when it raised $ 1.4 billion from global technology majors eBay, Tencent and Microsoft. In exchange of an equity stake in Flipkart, eBay had made a cash investment of $500 million and sold its eBay.in business to Flipkart. "Effective immediately, Flipkart will own and operate eBay.in, which will remain an independent entity as part of Flipkart," Flipkart said in a statement. "As a result, Flipkart customers will get expanded product choices with the wide array of global inventory available on eBay while eBay customers will have access to a more unique Indian inventory from Flipkart sellers," the statement said. "Our coming together directly benefits Indian customers and sellers for whom we want to provide the best possible e- commerce experience. This is a step in that direction," Flipkart CEO <keyword id="6379357" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kalyan-Krishnamurthy">Kalyan Krishnamurthy</keyword> said.

Flipkart acquires eBay India; all formalities completed

<ul><li><keyword id="6357395" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="eBay">eBay</keyword> was an early mover in India’s <keyword id="35621" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword> space, investing $50 million in Baazee.com in 2004. </li><li>It was unable to make much of a dent in the market and its Indian operations were eventually sold to <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> last year. </li><li>As part of its second attempt, eBay will focus on <keyword id="6744826" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="cross-border-retail">cross-border retail</keyword>, and is reportedly considering a merger with ShopClues. </li></ul>Just when you thought India’s e-commerce sector couldn’t get any more crowded, eBay is said to be planning a <keyword id="6635306" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="relaunch">relaunch</keyword> in the country. The US-based e-commerce company, which is primarily known as a consumer-to-consumer service, will part ways with Flipkart next month. Flipkart will shut the eBay.in portal on 14 August, and replace it with a platform for the sale of used and refurbished goods through its local subsidiary, F1 Info Solutions and Services. As part of its second attempt to break into India, eBay will focus on cross-border retail - the purchase and sale of goods between businesses in countries that are close to one another. It will not make a solitary go of it, however. According to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/ebay-in-talks-with-etailers-including-shopclues-for-a-fresh-bid-in-india/articleshow/65157378.cms">media reports</a>, the company is planning to merge with a local e-commerce platform. It has held talks with ShopClues, an online marketplace established in 2011, in this regard. The Gurugram-based ShopClues is reportedly in negotiations with a number of companies for a potential sale. Early mover, early failure eBay was an early mover in India’s e-commerce space, investing $50 million in Baazee.com, an auction site, in 2004 - a year in which the concept of online shopping was relatively new. The deal was a landmark one, but unfortunately, it didn’t pan out according to the eBay’s expectations. The concept of auctions didn’t catch on with the Indian public, who preferred their discounted prices upfront, which led to low volumes. In addition, the rapid turnover of senior managers and cumbersome regulation didn’t help either. Hence, it was unable to make much of a dent in the market and lost out to other players. In April 2017, eBay’s India operations were sold to Flipkart after the latter completed a $1.4 billion fundraising round from eBay along with Tencent and Microsoft. eBay took an equity stake in Flipkart in exchange for a $500 million investment and a 100% stake in its Indian operations. The company, remained an independent entity, eventually reaching a customer base of 4 million users. However, after the dissolution of the eBay-Flipkart partnership, its customers will likely migrate to Flipkart’s new portal. eBay will have its work cut out for it in the short term, which is why it’s keeping its ambitions modest. Cross-border trade is a small piece of the e-commerce market. eBay’s immediate priorities will be to find a local partner and get foreign and local businesses onboard.

Take two: eBay is taking another stab at the Indian market

E-tailing giant Amazon's net profits tanked 77 per cent to USD 197 million (Rs 1,264 crore) in the June quarter hurt by wider losses in international operations, but said it remains committed to investing in India. Amazon's operating losses in its international business widened to USD 724 million (Rs 4,646 crore) in June 2017 quarter against a loss of USD 135 million in the year-ago period. Its revenues, on the other hand, jumped close to 25 per cent to USD 37.5 billion. Operating income of Amazon's North America business fell 38 per cent, while that from <keyword id="141088" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-Web-Services">Amazon Web Services</keyword> (AWS) rose 27 per cent. Despite widening losses, Amazon remains committed to making further investments in India. "...we continue to invest in India. We are very hopeful with the progress we have made with sellers and customers alike in India and we see great momentum and success there, so we continue to invest and we have some of our best people in that business," Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian T Olsavsky said in an investor call. Explaining the company's strategy, he said: "... we continue to invest in, as I said, fulfilment capacity and logistics services, digital video... India, the buildup at the AWS infrastructure, all the things I mentioned not to mention Prime Now and Amazon Fresh and Prime benefits." The Seattle-based company, which is locked in an intense battle with <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> in India, has been aggressively pumping in money across its units here, including e-commerce and payments. Since January this year, it has pumped in USD 600 million (Rs 3,800 crore). It had committed investments worth USD 5 billion to the Indian market last year. Amazon India, which has recently completed four years of operations, has been directing its investments towards building <keyword id="93333" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="warehouses">warehouses</keyword>, strengthening logistics and increasing product assortment. Besides, money is also being invested in marketing and promotions as the company looks to bring more consumers into shopping online on its platform. In April, Flipkart had raised USD 1.4 billion in funding from Tencent, eBay and <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword>. It is also believed to be in discussions to buy smaller rival, <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> that is expected to further intensify the battle.

Amazon Q2 net profit down 77%; remains committed to India

In a bid to ramp up the operations, technology and ethnic offerings, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=flipkart&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Flipkart</a> raised the annual budget of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=myntra&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Myntra</a>. <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword>, which was acquired by <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> in 2014 for $300 million, will also use the budget to invest in at least three small to medium ethnic brands. "This year we got 25% extra money from the Flipkart board," said Myntra CEO <keyword id="6397414" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ananth-Narayanan">Ananth Narayanan</keyword>. "We will just invest in those brands and that will eventually be run by the entrepreneurs. In addition to our operating budget, our board has asked us to thoughtfully invest more in areas such as technology and brands which will help us continue on our growth trajectory and achieve profitability by March 2018," Narayanan told ET in an interview. Flipkart has funds to rake in Myntra as it had raised $1.4 billion funding from global giants <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword>, eBay and WeChat-investor Tencent. Narayanan said, “The additional budget will boost Myntra's chance of reaching its milestone of becoming profitable by March 2018 along with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=jabong&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Jabong.com</a>.”

Flipkart is pumping money in Myntra to ramp up operations; hikes annual budget by 25%

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/strategy/Kishore-Biyani-is-going-to-amuse-you-as-Future-Group-will-launch-ad-campaigns-targeting-Flipkart-Amazon/articleshow/54808832.cms">Kishore Biyani</a>, founder and CEO of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/small-business/lifestyle/futuregroup-hopes-its-fashion-business-to-grow-30-in-fy18/articleshow/57715035.cms">Future Group</a>, who has many a times criticised e-commerce companies, backed <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/topic/flipkart">Flipkart</a> after it projected itself as an "Indian company" and having a home-grown success story akin to that of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/tech/infosys-launches-ai-platform-nia/articleshow/58398195.cms">Infosys</a>, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Airtel. "In that sense, yes, they are Indian if you look at likewise comparisons," <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Kishore-Biyani-is-on-a-shopping-spree-Future-Group-buys-Sangam-Direct-chain-of-grocery-stores/articleshow/54449176.cms">Biyani</a> said. It was last month that <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> had called itself as Indian as the other domestic entrepreneurial mascots. "Flipkart is as homegrown and Indian as an Infosys, HDFC or ICICI, which also have significant foreign capital invested in them," it had told ET. Even though Flipkart and cab-hailing company <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> have a majority of their funding coming from international players, there founders have never shied away from positioning them as Indian companies. Co-incidentally, both Flipkart and Ola have been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/small-business/ola-founder-says-government-should-decide-if-us-internet-giants-are-capital-dumping-in-india/articleshow/58066428.cms">aggressively asking</a> for equality for local companies pitted against multinational rivals, which in their case are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/amazons-jeff-bezos-is-impressed-with-india-story-says-we-are-the-fastest-growing-marketplace/articleshow/58414165.cms">Amazon</a> and Uber. As per industry analysts, Flipart could have further lessened its Indian shareholding after the recent funding round by eBay (California, US), Tencent (Shenzen, China), and Microsoft (Washington, US). <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/retail/Kishore-Biyani-Indian-retails-original-rockstar-at-it-again-His-Future-Group-is-buying-Heritage-Fresh/articleshow/54407190.cms">Biyani</a> has always been vocal about his disliking towards ecommerce business in India, saying that these companies disregard FDI rules. "They (online retailers) sell to consumers. They are violating the law (on overseas investment) in spirit and in letter," said Biyani.

Kishore Biyani surprisingly backed Flipkart. Here's how

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=snapdeal&amp;sortorder=effectivedate" data-type="tilCustomLink">Snapdeal’s</a> three major investors- <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=softbank&amp;sortorder=effectivedate" data-type="tilCustomLink">SoftBank</a>, Nexus Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital- have already agreed for e-commerce’s sale out to<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=flipkart&amp;sortorder=effectivedate" data-type="tilCustomLink"> Flipkart</a>. But, apart from these, a nod from <keyword id="6419840" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Azim-Premji">Azim Premji</keyword> and <keyword id="6360722" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword> is also required as they too have stakes in <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-16/flipkart-pact-for-snapdeal-said-to-need-premji-tata-approvals">Bloomberg</a> reported, as per the contract, Snapdeal needs backing from the two of India's most powerful businessmen. Nod from Premji, Tata and other several important investors is still awaited. “If due diligence goes smoothly, a term sheet specifying cash and stock for each shareholder will follow and a final agreement could be signed by mid- to late June,” Bloomberg quoted sources as saying. When the sale happens, Snapdeal's Kunal Bahl and <keyword id="396598" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rohit-Bansal">Rohit Bansal</keyword> will together receive about $30 million with a similar sum to be set aside for Snapdeal's nearly 2,000 employees. <keyword id="1397792" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kalaari-Capital">Kalaari Capital</keyword>, one of the two early investors in the startup, is to get $30 million, while Nexus will receive twice that amount for its larger stake, they said. Kalaari's managing director <keyword id="1397790" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vani-Kola">Vani Kola</keyword>, an early investor in Snapdeal, told Bloomberg that she has resigned from the startup's board. "I was done with what I needed to do,” Kola said, adding that she saw no conflict of interest. Meanwhile, this merger will give a boost to <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>’s battle against <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>, which is pumping in money in its Indian arm to grab a significant share in the market. Flipkart raised $1.4 billion from Tencent Holdings Ltd., Microsoft Corp. and EBay Inc, taking its valuation at $11.6 billion. "This is a landmark deal for Flipkart and for India,” the company's co-founders <keyword id="225032" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sachin-Bansal">Sachin Bansal</keyword> and <keyword id="6364080" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Binny-Bansal">Binny Bansal</keyword> said in a statement. "This deal reaffirms our resolve to hasten the transformation of commerce in India through technology.

Azim Premji, Ratan Tata’s nod also important for Flipkart-Snapdeal merger

India now has over 462 million internet users – second largest in the world after China which means two-thirds of the 1.3 billion population have yet to come online. Only about 10 percent are currently shopping on <keyword id="436047" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ecommerce">eCommerce</keyword> sites which means that the story has just started for India where there is only room to expand. 2016 had been a challenging year for the e-tailing sector, with multiple regulatory challenges and slow demand growth that have been carried over to this year. This limited growth seen in the industry, has ensured that the murmurs around consolidation continue growing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 The biggest movement in the sector has been the recent <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> funding and Flipkart will use the capital from Tencent, eBay Inc and Microsoft to grow PhonePe- it’s UPI based app,and expand its portfolio of private labels and relaunch key categories such as furniture and grocery. The company’s plans to turn profitable in specific categories comes at a time when <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword>’s is equipped with $5-billion funding, and the upcoming threat of <keyword id="302749" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Alibaba">Alibaba</keyword>’s entry alongside learning from Paytm Mall. <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, which is one of the companies most impacted by the industry slowdown in the last year, is reportedly likely to be acquired by Flipkart and as the rumors grow, we wondered how the e-commerce battleground would look like if this deal goes through. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 What will happen if the biggest consolidation in the eCommerce sector goes through. Benefits of the Snapdeal acquisition for Flipkart • Access to Snapdeal’s well-oiled supply chain network - This deal gives Flipkart a way to expand its supply chain reach quickly and inorganically by getting access to Snapdeal’s numerous small and big warehouses, especially in Northern India which is Snapdeal’s territory. Fast deliveries and regional fulfilment of orders have become crucial for e-tailers to achieve both higher customer satisfaction and lower supply chain costs. And this move by Flipkart would be a significant boost in its quest for supply chain leadership over <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>, which is aggressively expanding its supply chain network. • Access to another large investor- With Softbank expected to buy into Flipkart with this deal, this should give Flipkart additional funding firepower to sustain its bruising battle with Amazon for a longer period which will ensure that the new Flipkart group becomes a more serious contender for Amazon. • Expansion of Flipkart’s customer base- While admittedly there is a significant overlap between Flipkart and Snapdeal customer bases, there is a small set of Snapdeal customers from Northern India who can be added to Flipkart’s kitty with this deal ensuring more customers than ever before and maybe even more GMV compared to Amazon after the deal. • Increase in exclusives portfolio- This deal would mean that Flipkart can take advantage of Snapdeal’s many exclusive tie-ups with brands globally, which should especially help it in home and fashion categories portfolio diversification 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Commenting on challenges and way ahead for Flipkart from the deal, Anil Kumar, CEO, <keyword id="3631351" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="RedSeer-Consulting">RedSeer Consulting</keyword> said, “Extracting synergies and value from this acquisition would be a challenging task for Flipkart, considering the physical distances, differing strategies and the different team cultures at both companies. However, if the post-merger integration is executed successfully, the deal could play out similar to Ola/TFS acquisition in online cabs space, which gave Ola significant funding and capability firepower to hold off <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> in India. Something which would help Flipkart fend off Amazon for much longer”

This is what will happen if Snapdeal gets acquired by Flipkart

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58f78e897522cacd008b45e5-1200/waynekawarabayashi.jpg" alt="wayne_kawarabayashi" />Union Square AdvisorsWayne Kawarabayashi, Partner and Head of M&amp;A, Union Square AdvisorsIn light of the current state of the global economy, capital market conditions and political climate, many are wondering what lies ahead for this year's technology M&amp;A market. In the U.S., we are closely watching the Trump administration as it pursues its agenda to tighten immigration and the U.S. borders, renegotiate trade agreements, replace Obamacare, and enhance defense and infrastructure spending. Against this backdrop, the economy continues to improve and we are entering the eighth year of a bull market. Further, the technology sector is growing, has abundant access to equity and debt capital and remains very active in M&amp;A, as evidenced by strong 2016 M&amp;A volume and several notable transactions thus far in 2017. In short, we are expecting technology M&amp;A to continue to be active for the rest of this year.<h2>Drivers of Technology M&amp;A </h2>We believe there are many positive drivers that will continue to support M&amp;A and investment activity in the technology sector this year. The equity markets continue to trade at record highs following the 2016 U.S. election, boosting investor and corporate confidence. Corporate earnings continue to improve and companies are looking to take advantage of this administration's plans to lower tax rates, effect a tax holiday on foreign cash repatriation, loosen regulations (e.g., HSR, Dodd-Frank) and enhance federal infrastructure spending by $1 trillion. At the same time, inflation seems to be in check and interest rates remain historically low, despite the Federal Reserve's two rate hikes since the election. Companies have large cash war chests for investments both domestically and overseas (the top five technology companies have an estimated $1.7 trillion in cash with $500 billion of it overseas) and there are large pools of capital in private equity, venture capital, pension funds and lending institutions waiting to be deployed as well. <img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55a905992acae732118b74eb-2400/rtxou1i.jpg" alt="Paul Singer" /><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ0E65656&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1588&amp;RH=896#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ0E65656&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1588&amp;RH=896&amp;POPUPPN=6&amp;POPUPIID=2C0BF189X2KW">REUTERS/Lucas Jackson</a>Lastly, if companies are reticent to act, hedge fund activists may continue to demand board seats, return of capital and evaluation of strategic alternatives to catalyze M&amp;A activity as they have done successfully over the past few years (e.g., Elliott Management's recent activist campaigns with Cognizant for board seats and with The Advisory Board to consider strategic alternatives). <h2>Technology M&amp;A Off to a Solid Start</h2>Year to date, we've seen solid activity with large technology corporates becoming more active with M&amp;A, even plucking them before they go public, as evidenced by Cisco's $3.7 billion acquisition of AppDynamics. We've also seen several publicly-traded companies agree to sell themselves despite the overall strength in equity markets such as Mobileye's $15.3 billion sale to Intel, CEB's $2.6 billion sale to Gartner, Ixia's $1.6 billion sale to KeySight and Nimble Storage's $1.1 billion sale to HP Enterprise. Some strategics have become even more aggressive including Virtu Financial's $1.3 billion unsolicited offer for rival, KCG Holdings. Lastly, almost every week there appears to be a new company rumored to be for sale. Non-technology companies' pursuit of technology will likely continue as well following last year's activity including Walmart's $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com, General Motor's more than $1 billion acquisition of Cruise Automation, Unilever's $1 billion acquisition of Dollarshave.com and General Electric's $915 million acquisition of ServiceMax. This activity will be driven by the pervasiveness of technology throughout other industry sectors as more physical devices become technology-enabled, more information needs to be collected and analyzed, and more activity shifts to the Internet and cloud.<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/578ffc834321f1c72f8b92ab-639/screen shot 2016-07-20 at 6.33.23 pm.png" alt="Dollar Shave Club" /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMs3ZUThyhQ">YouTube/Dollar Shave Club</a>According to our compilation of market data, we experienced another strong M&amp;A year in technology, media and telecommunications with $583 billion of M&amp;A volume in 2016, a modest decline (six percent) from 2015's record $621 billion of volume. In addition, we saw more M&amp;A transactions in the sector at $1 billion or above in 2016, although dollar volume was lower (107 deals for a total of $497 billion) versus 2015 (79 deals for a total of $528 billion). While sector M&amp;A volume has been on the upswing over the past two years, we've also seen the level of technology IPO and private placement volumes rapidly decline over the same period (21 technology IPOs in 2016 vs. 34 in 2015, according to our compilation of market data). In part, the increase in M&amp;A has been supported by lower activity in capital raising. <h2>Private Equity </h2>We expect private equity and other investment management organizations to remain active this year. While they will continue to evaluate acquisitions of go-privates and private-to-private transactions, they will also evaluate alternative structures as demonstrated by CPPIB's 48 percent investment in Apax-owned GlobalLogic (valued at $1.5 billion); Apollo and HGM's $2.8 billion merger of SourceHOV, Novitex and Quinpario; and Veritas' $690 million carve-out acquisition of Harris' government IT services business. We also anticipate that private equity will continue to make PIPE investments into public companies such as last year's $500 million investment by Silver Lake in Symantec which helped support Symantec's acquisitions of BlueCoat for $4.7 billion and LifeLock for $2.3 billion. On a related note, private equity firms are increasingly acquiring platforms for the purpose of effecting further consolidation. Therefore, in addition to the aforementioned Silver Lake/Symantec's consolidation of companies, last year, Permira and Hellman &amp; Friedman's Genesys acquired its publicly-traded competitor Interactive Intelligence for $1.4 billion, and this year, Vista acquired DH Corp for $3.6 billion to combine it with its portfolio company, Misys. <h2>Technology IPO Market Ramping Up</h2>AppDynamics, which was swept up by Cisco, was supposed to lead off the technology IPO market in 2017. Instead, messaging app company Snap earned those honors. In early March, Snap raised $3.4 billion, priced above its offering range, and traded up 44 percent on its first day of trading. Several other IPOs followed Snap and performed above their IPO prices including enterprise software developer Mulesoft, data analytics provider Alteryx, security company Okta, and software firm Yext, which ended up 46 percent, 11 percent, 38 percent and 22 percent, respectively, higher on the first day of trading. <img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58e7de9f77bb709d0a8b7289-802/undefined" alt="Okta Bell" /><a href="http://business.nasdaq.com/discover/market-bell-ceremonies/detail.html#!/!?ceremonyId=7563">NASDAQ</a>While IT services provider, Presidio, priced below its offering range and traded only a modest 1.9 percent above its IPO price on the first day of trading; and Brazilian online retailer, Netshoes, priced at the low end of its range and traded down 11 percent on its first day. Still, others are looking to come to market in the first half of 2017 including Carvana and Cloudera.While the IPO market for technology is beginning to open, it is always difficult to predict how long the window will remain open. We've seen equity market volatility in March despite the launches of these recent IPOs. Dual track processes, whereby a company uses its IPO filing as a marketing opportunity to simultaneously explore a sale, will continue to be an option for IPO candidates as they seek to hedge their bets and try to maximize value in a sale versus going public. In 2016, KKR bought Optiv for $1.9 billion and Symantec bought Blue Coat for $4.7 billion, while in 2017, Cisco bought AppDynamics after all three companies filed to go public. While some private technology companies will be able to access the public equity market, many more private technology companies and their investors will proactively consider alternative monetization options including raising additional capital for growth while valuations still remain relatively attractive as well as seeking exits to strategic and growth-oriented private equity firms. This year, we've seen two large venture-backed companies exit via a sale to strategics including SimpliVity's $650 million sale to HP Enterprise and Veracode's $614 million sale to CA. <h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58f7d3ae0ba0b8c6008b49ad-736/undefined" alt="The logo of India's largest online marketplace Flipkart is seen on a building in Bengaluru, India, April 22, 2015. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa " />Thomson ReutersThe logo of India's largest online marketplace Flipkart is seen on a building in BengaluruCapital Raises and Unicorns</h2>The private capital markets also remain active with sizeable investments. This year, there have been several large private capital raises including Koubei's $1.1 billion raise with Silver Lake, CDH Investments, Yunfeng Capital and Primavera Capital consortium of investors; FlipKart's $1 billion raise with eBay, Microsoft and Tencent; WeWork's $300 million investment from SoftBank; Magento's $250 million investment from Hillhouse Capital; and Tricentis' $165 million investment from Insight Venture Partners.It will be interesting to see what the large private technology unicorns will do in 2017. After enjoying several rounds of large capital raises at high valuations in recent years, these unicorns are now finding it difficult to continue to justify these higher valuations with each successive capital raise. Investors in private technology companies typically enter at different time periods and at various pre-money valuations, therefore each investor has different expectations for value and time to exit. We are seeing that some companies aren't able to continue to drive higher pre-money valuations with each capital raise, as some of the air has been let out of the unicorn phenomena. As a result, some of these companies are proactively exploring exits to strategics, seeking alternative sources of capital including debt and hybrid securities, and replacing one set of investors for another in secondary buyouts. The large unicorns, including Airbnb, Dropbox, Uber and Pinterest, will continue to watch to see when they might best tap the IPO market. <h2>Headwinds to Watch</h2>While there continues to be positive drivers that support an active M&amp;A year in technology, there are several headwinds to watch. First, as strategics and private equity firms continue to evaluate target companies to buy, there is a growing sentiment amongst these buyers that valuations, propelled by the strength of the equity markets, low cost of debt and an increased buyer universe, are getting expensive. There is also concern amongst the PE players that the high EBITDA multiple that one has to pay today might contract if the bull market subsides over the coming years, thereby lowering the multiple at exit and impacting IRR returns. Further, if tax law is enacted to eliminate tax-deductibility of interest expense, this could also dampen returns, although it would likely be partially offset by a reduction in corporate tax rates and full expensing of capital expenditures. <img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58f7d3d00ba0b896008b49a0-711/undefined" alt="Apr 19, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; President Donald Trump (M) walks through Rose Garden with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft (L) and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (R) to at a ceremony honoring the Super Bowl LI champion Patriots on the South Lawn at the White House. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports" />Thomson ReutersNFL: Super Bowl LI Champions-New England Patriots White House VisitSecond, there is the potential that the new administration's "America First" view towards foreign relations could dampen or at the very least increase scrutiny for cross-border M&amp;A activity, especially for U.S. technology assets that are of national importance (e.g., CFIUS review). While we've seen CFIUS and past administrations intervene on a number of Chinese acquisitions of U.S. companies, the recent decision to block Germany's Infineon Technologies acquisition of Wolfspeed begs the question of whether the CFIUS mandate has been broadened to include European allies as well; albeit this is only one example. Further, changes in immigration and international trade policies could also impact the organic growth of U.S.-based technology companies making buyers and targets more susceptible to revenue, earnings and foreign exchange rate volatility, thereby increasing reluctance to make big technology M&amp;A bets.Third, the recent withdrawal of the American Health Care Reform Act of 2017 by the Republicans in Congress has increased market volatility as investors wonder about the Republicans' ability to push through tax reform, infrastructure spending and other economic and market enhancing policies. Lastly, the growing tensions in Syria and North Korea, as well as the outcome of the French elections and Brexit could continue to enhance market volatility and weigh on the minds of investors, tech buyers and sellers.<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>Despite some potential headwinds, we think the market dynamics will support another strong year for technology M&amp;A in 2017. We will continue to see acquisition and investment activity in the following areas: cloud transformation, cybersecurity and network visibility, big data/data analytics, vertical and horizontal as-a-service offerings, converged IT solutions, mobility, advertising technology/marketing technology, e-commerce, mobility solutions, healthcare IT, fintech, Internet of Things, Internet of Humans, machine learning/artificial intelligence/intelligent applications, and augmented/virtual reality. While some technology companies will see exits via IPOs, the vast majority will continue to tap the private placement market and find growth equity and private equity buyers who are flush with cash as well as seek full exits to large and mid-sized strategic buyers. The technology sector remains robust and developments in innovation and the convergence of technology will drive companies to make offensive and defensive moves to stay ahead of the game.Kawarabayashi is head of M&amp;A at Union Square Advisors, is a leading technology-focused investment bank that offers strategic mergers &amp; acquisitions advice and execution as well as agented private capital financing services. Founded in 2007, with offices in San Francisco and New York, Union Square Advisors works with leading public and private technology companies, private equity and venture capital firms across the technology landscape with a primary focus on Software, Software-Enabled Services, IT Infrastructure and Internet/Digital Media. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pepsi-pulled-controversial-ad-kendall-jenner-2017-4">'Clearly we missed the mark': Pepsi just pulled this controversial ad</a></h3> Please enable Javascript to watch this video

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This is what will happen if Snapdeal gets acquired by Flipkart

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Wayne Kawarabayashi, Union Square Advisors