Paytm Mall in talks to invest Rs 200 crore in BigBasket for minority stake

Alibaba backed e-commerce venture, Paytm Mall, is in talks to buy a stake in online grocery start-up, BigBasket. The online marketplace is likely going to acquire a significant minority stake for about $200 million and has even begun due diligence for the same. This deal will help Paytm Mall to strengthen its online-to-offline strategy.

Paytm Mall has shown interest in purchasing the stake in BigBasket, as the online grocery store is exploring various strategic options, which includes the sale to Amazon and a merger with Grofers. Apart from that, Bigbasket has been discussing a fundraising from financial investors as well.

BigBasket’s discussions with Amazon India have been on hold as the two sides have not been able to agree on various issues, including valuation. BigBasket is seeking a valuation of about Rs 6450 crore for the company. Investment bank Morgan Stanley is advising BigBasket in these discussions.

Paytm e-commerce, which recently appointed One97’s Amit Sinha as chief operating officer, raised $200 million from Alibaba Group and SAIF Partners in March.

BigBasket’s private labels including Fresho for fruits and vegetables and Happychef for gourmet foods accounted for over one-third of its sales. The company registered about Rs 1400 crore in revenue in the fiscal year 2017.