Tata and Temasek approve merger of Snapdeal, Flipkart

Tata group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata, Temasek, BlackRock and Foxconn, all high-profile stakeholders of Gurgaonbased online marketplace Snapdeal, have reportedly given in-principle approval to its merger with rival, Flipkart.

None of them, however, could be contacted to confirm this information. Snapdeal, too, refused to comment.

According to some sources, Premji Invest and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund, other investors of Snapdeal, have still not approved the merger.

Getting a nod from the shareholders is important, as it is part of the clauses in the deal agreement. For it to go ahead, at least 75 per cent of minority shareholders have to approve the deal.

“Flipkart wants all the shareholders to agree to the deal. If that does not happen, then it might decide to not go ahead,” said a source close to the Snapdeal board.

There are about 30 more shareholders who still have to give their assent. Source said that Snapdeal board asked for a nod from minority shareholders on the revised offer from Flipkart to the tune of $950970 million.

Some of the investors are SoftBank, ru-Net Holdings, Tybourne Capital, Premji Invest, Alibaba, Temasek, Bessemer Venture Partners, IndoUS Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Saama Capital, Foxconn, BlackRock, eBay, Nexus Venture Partners, Intel Capital, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Singaporebased investment entity Brother Fortune Apparel and Ratan Tata.

There are about 30 more shareholders who still have to give their assent to the merger of Snapdeal and Flipkart