 "Snapdeal")
E-commerce marketplace major Snapdeal has been approached by online fashion retailer Jabong.com with a possible sale offer. Global Fashion Group (GFG), the company that owns Jabong, has been in talks with a number of probable investors for some time now. On being asked if Jabong had approached Snapdeal for possible sale talks, Snapdeal co-founder & chief executive Kunal Bahl, without disclosing much, said the company was almost always approached by those wanting to raise money in the market.
"At any time, anyone who wants to look at raising money in this market, or is thinking about getting a strategic partner on board, comes and talks to us. We are always considering companies in every space because it is important for us to keep growing our ecosystem. The specifics, though, I can discuss later," he told Business Standard.
Snapdeal, unlike its bigger rival Flipkart which owns the app-only retailer Myntra, does not have an online fashion retail partner. Though Flipkart has not yet started adding Myntra's gross merchandise value to its own, sources say it might come out with combined numbers after the 'Big Billion Day' sale.
According to sources, Snapdeal would, therefore, like to add an online fashion and lifestyle portal, and that is the reason it could be open to buying out Jabong. "Adding a fashion portal would help Snapdeal tackle Myntra in a major way. However, talks are at a nascent stage," said a senior official who did not wish to be named.
For some time now, A B Kinnevik, the major shareholder of GFG, has been looking out for a potential buyer. Sources said talks of selling out Jabong had started as the fashion portal had been making losses. According to sources, in late 2014, online marketplace Amazon India also held talks with Jabong for a potential buyout, but the deal fell through after Jabong reportedly sought a valuatiuon of $1.2 billion.
There also were reports of Jabong being in talks with Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and top executives of Aditya Birla Group for a possible sale.
This year, Jabong received investments of around Rs 300 crore.
