Bigbasket raises $300 mn from Alibaba and others
Online grocery firm BigBasket, operated by Supermarket Grocery Supplies Pvt. Ltd, on Friday said it has raised $300 million in a Series-E round led by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, announcing a widely anticipated deal that will give it resources to hold on to its lead.
The investment, which was in the works for several months, is the largest raised by the company and comes at a time when the competition is set to heat up with the entry of Amazon and Flipkart, India’s two largest e-commerce behemoths, to the on-demand grocery segment.
Sands Capital, International Finance Corp., and Dubai-based private equity investor Abraaj Capital participated in the round. The three investors had led BigBasket’s $150 million fund-raise in March 2016. Other investors in BigBasket include Helion Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and Ascent Capital.
The firm did not comment on whether a part of the investment was a secondary share sale by some existing investors.
Proceeds from the round will go towards supply chain expansion by creating new sourcing channels with farmers, technology upgradation and efforts to grow the customer base.
“The funds will be directed towards bettering our technological, analytical, and infrastructural prowess, all of which will enable the company to move up the curve. BigBasket is currently partnering with about 1,800 farmers throughout the country and aims to become the ‘most preferred partner’ for up to 3,000 of them,” said co-founder and chief executive officer Hari Menon.
BigBasket started operations from Bengaluru in late 2011 and has, over the years, expanded to 30 Indian cities. It sells everything from vegetables and packaged food to dairy products and kitchen utilities.
BigBasket plans to go deep in the cities it already has a foothold in, the company said. It will also strengthen its business-tobusiness delivery vertical, where it offers itself as a technology-enabled grocery supplier to hotels, restaurants and caterers.
As of March 2017, BigBasket led the on-demand grocery segment with a 35.2% market share.
NEW DELHI: