New Delhi: The Tata Group will buy a majority stake of 68 per cent in online grocery brand BigBasket for about Rs 9,300-9,500 crore ( ($1.31 billion) as it bids to expand in the fast-growing e-commerce space in India. This comes about 20 months after the Hari Menon-led Bengaluru company had entered the unicorn club (companies with valuation of at least $1 billion), reported Business Standard. Also Read – Expanding Retail Footprint? Tata Group in Final Stage to Acquire Stake in BigBasket, 1mg: Report
The deal between the Tata Group and Big Basket will be inked in the coming 4 weeks. As per the report, both parties are awaiting the nod by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The deal provides an exit route for a host of investors of BigBasket, including Chinese billionaire Jack Ma-controlled Alibaba. Also Read – 10 Most Successful Tech CEOs of The Decade
It is understood that Tata group’s acquisition puts the enterprise value of BigBasket at over Rs 13,500 crore. Also Read – Tata Group Likely to Buy 80% Stake in Online Grocer BigBasket For USD 1.3 Billion: Report
After the acquisition, the conglomerate is also planning to launch a “super app” that will tie in all its consumer businesses, said media reports.
BigBasket CEO Hari Menon will continue to stay on board for atleast three to four years, a report by LiveMint said.
When contacted to confirm the development, Tata group, BigBasket and Alibaba declined to comment.
Founded in 2011, BigBasket operates in 25 Indian cities. It competes with SoftBank-backed Grofers as well as Amazon India and Flipkart. BigBasket had last year recorded an 84 per cent increase in the number of its customers owing to the pandemic as people chose to stay indoors and order groceries online. With 20 million orders per month, the company reached the milestone of $1 billion run-rate in annual revenues last year, reported LiveMint.
