This company is going to buy Tata group to compete with JioMart, Alibaba is showing the way out
The Tata Group is buying a 68 percent stake in Big Basket, which sells online grocery stores, for about Rs 9,500 crore. The group is making this acquisition as part of an effort to expand into the fast-growing e-business segment in India. Sources involved with the case said that the Tata group, making everything from salt to software, had been working for months to buy a majority stake in the Bangalore-based startup. The group has reached an agreement on the deal.
The deal provides an exit route to Big Basket investors, including Alibaba, controlled by Chinese industrialist Jack Ma. When contacted, the Tata group, Big Basket and Alibaba declined to comment. The Tata group is understood to have valued the venture as Rs 13,500 crore under the acquisition.
Top management may remain intact
According to reports, the top management, including the co-founder of Big Basket, can be retained in the company for another three-four years even after being acquired by the Tata Group. It had raised $150 million from Mirae, Alibaba and CDC Group. BigBasket then joined the club of companies with a $1 billion valuation. The company had said that it would use this fund to strengthen its presence in the market. Big Basket came into existence in 2011. It currently operates in 25 cities in India.
