India’s Snapdeal set for $650m funding round – report
Indian e-commerce business Snapdeal is expected to raise up to $650 million in a new round of funding lead by Japan's SoftBank Corporation with existing investors also participating.
According to Reuters, an official announcement is likely to made next week. If it goes ahead, it will be the biggest e-commerce investment in the country since the $1 billion raised round by Flipkart in July. AVCJ research data show that - including this latest round - Snapdeal has so far raised about $1.6 billion from VC backers.
Snapdeal, which was launched in 2010, held its last funding round in May when it sourced $100 million from Temasek Holdings, BlackRock, Premji Invest, Myriad Asset Management and Tybourne Capital Management. Earlier in the year, it raised $133.8 million from eBay, Kalaari Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Intel Capital and Saama Capital.
The round also marks SoftBank's second investment in the firm. The Japanese telecoms giant committed $74 million last year. Other investors include Russia's ru-Net, Japan's Recruit Holdings and Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata conglomerate.
The expected capital injection will further fuel the arms race in India's online retail space as VC-backed local players raise ever-larger rounds to compete with each other and multinational rivals like Amazon.com and eBay. Amazon announced it would commit $2 billion to its India business shortly after Flipkart raised its latest round.
The sector has also seen some consolidation with Flipkart acquiring e-fashion retailer Myntra for $300 million in May.
According to investment firm CLSA, India's e-commerce market is valued at $3.1 billion, excluding travel services and tickets. A recent report by Technopak Advisors projects the market will grow to $56 billion by 2023.
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