Confirmed: There's no deal; Snapdeal, Flipkart call off merger talks

1. Confirmed: There's no deal; Snapdeal, Flipkart call off merger talks After five months, countless man hours of deliberation and numerous board meetings, a proposed merger between e-commerce players Snapdeal and Flipkart – which would have been the biggest consolidation in the Indian e-commerce history has been called off, Snapdeal has confirmed. “Snapdeal has been exploring strategic options over the past several months. The company has now decided to pursue an independent path and is terminating all strategic discussions as a result. Snapdeal’s vision has always been to create life-changing experiences for millions of buyers and sellers across India,” Snapdeal spokesperson said. Sources added that Softbank would in all probability invest in Flipkart on its own and not continue its association with Snapdeal. The Snapdeal founders – Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal – as well as early-stage investor Nexus Venture Partner and smaller shareholders like PremjiInvest had all along showed their reservations against the deal.

2. A Softbank spokesperson said: "Supporting entrepreneurs and their vision and aspirations is at the heart of Masayoshi Son’s and SoftBank’s investment philosophy. As such, we respect the decision to pursue an independent strategy. We look forward to the results of the Snapdeal 2.0 strategy, and to remaining invested in the vibrant Indian e-commerce space.” Snapdeal plans to now go ahead with its ‘Plan B’ and pivot its company into a Taobao kind of an open marketplace set-up. The company just closed a $60-million deal to sell its online wallet Freecharge to Axis Bank. With this money, as well as the cash it has in bank, the company hopes to have a running time of at least four years. Read More