Tata, Temasek, others okay Flipkart-Snapdeal merger: report

In the a fresh development in the Flipkart-Snapdeal merger talks, a report today says Tata Group chairman emeritus Ratan Tata, Temasek, BlackRock and Foxconn, all high profile shareholders in Gurgaon based online marketplace Snapdeal, have given in-principle approval to the deal.

However, none of the shareholders could be contacted to confirm or deny the news, according to the Business Standard report.

According to the paper's sources, Premji Invest and Ontario Pension Fund have still not given their nod to the merger. Snapdeal refused to comment on the issue. For the deal to go ahead, at least 75 per cent of minority shareholders had to give a nod.

It was reported on Thursday that the board of Jasper Infotech, which owns Snapdeal, has accepted a $900-950 million buyout offer from Flipkart, but the board wants to take a broader consensus from major its shareholders including Ratan Tata and PremjiInvest (See: Snapdeal sale around corner as Jasper okays Flipkart offer).

Getting approval for the deal from shareholders is part of the deal agreement. "Flipkart wants all the shareholders to agree to the deal. If that does not happen, then the ecommerce player might decide to not move ahead with the deal," BS cited a source close to the Snapdeal board as saying.

However, there are around 30 more shareholders who have to still give their assent to the deal. A source said that the Snapdeal board asked for approval from minority shareholders on the revised Flipkart deal, worth $950 million-$970 million, the report says.

Some of the investors include SoftBank Corp, ru-Net Holdings, Tybourne Capital, PremjiInvest, Alibaba Group, Temasek Holdings, Bessemer Venture Partners, IndoUS Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Saama Capital, Foxconn Technology Group, BlackRock, eBay, Nexus Venture Partners, Intel Capital, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Singapore-based investment entity Brother Fortune Apparel and Ratan Tata.