Paytm was reportedly in talks to merge its marketplace with Snapdeal in an all-stock transaction that fell through, but there is a possibility that talks could resume again, reports Economic Times.
According to experts, if the two firms do come to an agreement, Alibaba will be the biggest shareholder of the new entity. Alibaba, the world’s largest e-commerce company has a 40% stake in Paytm and around 3% in Snapdeal.
Paytm’s newly spun-off online marketplace business has been funded by Alibaba and SAIF Partners. Softbank will also have a crucial role to play as it is a major investor in Snapdeal and also has a substantial stake in Alibaba.
Alibaba, that competes with the likes of Amazon and Microsoft globally, has expressed a keen desire in establishing a direct presence in the country after backing Snapdeal and Paytm.
With 8.5 million daily transactions on its platform, Paytm recently said that the it will soon overtake the cumulative transaction volume for cards in the country. It also said that it has seen a massive rise in its user-base post-demonetisation in November.
(Feature image source: PTI)
