Two of India’s leading online grocery firms BigBasket and Grofers might be exploring a possible merger, for which they have held preliminary discussions, says a Times of India report.
As per TOI sources, the talks began in November last year and are likely to be taken into consideration again during BigBasket’s board meeting scheduled for end of January.
Bengaluru-based Big Basket has mandated investment bank Morgan Stanely for a $150million fund-raise, which is expected to close by April and this might be a major deciding factor for the merger.
Similarly, Delhi-based Grofer’s investors SoftBank and Tiger Global, putting in fresh funds into the merged entity, could also be an significant factor for deciding the future course of talks.
“If their fund-raise doesn’t go too well, the merger is very likely to happen keeping in mind the $60-million cash that’s in the bank for Grofers,“ said a source.
As of now, both the companies have ruled out the possibility of a merger and refused to comment on speculations.