Snapdeal's three biggest investors — Japan's SoftBank, Kalaari Capital and Nexus Venture Partners have moved closer to resolving an impasse, potentially clearing the way for a sale of the e-tailer to one of its rivals, Flipkart or Paytm, according to a Mint report, citing unnamed sources.
The newspaper report said that at a board meeting of Jasper Infotech, the company behind Snapdeal, on Tuesday, SoftBank showed interest in buying a part of the stake owned by Kalaari and Nexus.
Such a move would allow SoftBank, which owns more than a 30 percent stake in Snapdeal, to consolidate its ownership position and put it in the driver's seat to negotiate any deal.
The newspaper said Kalaari and Nexus are seeking a sum of $100 million each for their stakes. Snapdeal promoters Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal have also asked SoftBank for a $100 million payout to them and their management teams in order to clear the way for a sale.
A spokeswoman for Snapdeal said no decision has been taken by the board on any matter thus far.
Separately the Economic Times citing a source reported that a sale of Snapdeal to Flipkart is more likely than a sale of the company to smaller e-commerce rival Paytm, as Flipkart's valuation of Snapdeal was much better. (http://bit.ly/2oAQlnY)
A representative of Flipkart said that the company does not comment on market speculation.