Online marketplace eBay Inc. is doing some shopping of its own in India. The world’s largest shopping site has picked up a minority stake in New Delhi-based Snapdeal.com for a reported $50 million.
According to sources, the investment was closed two months ago, and was led by eBay and received participation from IndoUS Venture Partners, Nexus Venture and Bessemer Venture Partners.
When contacted, a spokesperson from eBay India said: “eBay does not comment on speculation or rumours on investment deals.”
With this investment, Snapdeal has raised a little over $100 million in funding. In 2012, it had raised $40 million from Bessemer Venture Partners, Nexus Venture, and IndoUS Venture Partners.
Possible investments
“eBay has been scouting for possible investments over the last six months, evaluating over 30 different companies. As Snapdeal has also pivoted into the marketplace model, it will help the eBay India arm, which so far is only populated by small businesses, to gain a foothold in the Indian e-commerce market,” said a source.
Snapdeal was founded in 2010 by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal as a daily deals website, similar to San Francisco-based Groupon, but changed its model to that of a marketplace in early 2012.
The online retailer is projected to report nearly $100 million top line revenue in 2012.