Snapdeal, Flipkart, Ola founders look to gain back lost shares from investors

The decision to end discussions with Flipkart marks a big win for Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl (CEO) and Rohit Bansal (chief operating officer), both of whom were against the sale to their sworn enemy Flipkart from the start. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Min

Bengaluru: At two of India’s iconic Internet start-ups, Flipkart and Snapdeal, the founders are fighting hard to keep control of their companies or striving to come back in more prominent roles after a period in which two powerful investors, Tiger Global Management Llc. and SoftBank Group Corp., called the shots at these companies. At another large start-up Ola, the founders have secured stronger rights against SoftBank to protect themselves against potentially hostile action by the largest shareholder in the cab-hailing firm.

On Monday, Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal won the battle to keep the firm independent as it walked away from talks to sell itself to Flipkart. The decision to end talks with Flipkart marked a win for the Snapdeal founders, both of whom were against the sale to their arch-rival from the start. Bahl and Bansal have, for now, won the bitter boardroom battle against SoftBank, Snapdeal’s largest investor, which was pushing for the sale.

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