Alibaba, Paytm in 60-day exclusive pact with Bigbasket for stake buy

Bangalore: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and its Indian associate Paytm E-commerce Pvt are in talks to invest about $200 million for a stake of roughly 20% in India’s leading online grocer, Bigbasket, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

Alibaba and Paytm are in a 60-day exclusive pact with Bigbasket and are conducting due diligence, said the person, who did not want to be quoted as the negotiations are private. The two could invest as a team or separately, the person said. Several others are also said to be interested and in various stages of conversation with Bigbasket, including global retail titan Amazon.com Inc, said a different person familiar with the matter. Morgan Stanley is advising Supermarket Grocery Supplies Pvt, which owns the Bigbasket brand, on the fundraising, that person said. Bigbasket’s existing investors include the Dubai-headquartered Abraaj Group and Sands Capital. The talks were reported earlier by local media, including the Economic Times.

 

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