India: Japan’s SoftBank looking to consolidate startups

After ploughing about $2 billion into minority stakes in Indian e-commerce businesses over the past few years, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. is upping the stakes, looking to play consolidator and take a more active role at a trio of leading start-ups.

According to persons with direct knowledge of the matter, the solar-to-tech conglomerate is seeking to secure a piece of India’s industry leaders in everything from payment systems to online shopping and groceries, in a series of deals that would shake up the $65 billion sector.

Among the most high-profile plans is SoftBank’s push to engineer Snapdeal sale to Flipkart, the leader of one of the world’s most competitive online retail markets. The deal could be finalized as soon as next week, one of the persons said.

Besides Snapdeal, SoftBank is also close to finalizing a cash infusion of more than $1 billion into Alibaba-backed digital payments firm Paytm—leader in the fintech sector—giving it a more direct say in that group too, according to one person familiar with discussions.

Media reports have separately linked SoftBank to a tie-up between grocery delivery group Grofers, in which it has invested roughly $70 million, and market leader and rival BigBasket.

SoftBank, Snapdeal, Paytm and BigBasket did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for Grofers said the company did not comment on merger speculation.

Full Content: Live Mint

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