Snapdeal calls off merger talks with Flipkart; to go alone with Snapdeal 2.0 concept

Jasper Infotech, the board of beleaguered domestic ecommerce major, has terminated negotiations for the proposed sale of its troubled online marketplace Snapdeal to market leader Flipkart, ending nearly seven months of tumultuous discussions initiated by its largest investor SoftBank. The ecommerce major said that it will pursue an independent path with Kunal Behl terming it as “Snapdeal 2.0”. However, the fractious and often bitter boardroom battle is expected to come out in open with one of the company’s early investors Kalaari Capital already venting its ire against the move.

Kabir Misra, MD of SoftBank Group, said that “I believed that this (the merger with Flipkart) was the right thing to do. But once the company and the founders have decided on a different path, we will support them. My job, as a board member, was to present them with options, and we provided them with a couple of different and viable options”. Meanwhile, the startup is preparing for a significant lay off plan with ~80% of its employee strength expected to be given pink slip by the employer. On the arrival of Snapdeal 2.0 concept, the company founder commented that “We have made tremendous progress towards this new path over the last few months and are already profitable at gross profit (a.k.a. net margin) level, with clear visibility to making upwards of Rs 150 crore in gross profit in the next 12 months”.