Tata Group to buy majority stake in BigBasket for about $1 billion: Report

BigBasket is in advanced talks to sell a majority stake for about $1 billion to Tata Group

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian online grocery startup BigBasket is in advanced talks to sell a majority stake for about $1 billion to salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group , the Economic Times reported on Wednesday, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

The century-old group has been planning to launch a "super app", one that will tie in all its consumer businesses, several media reports have said, as it competes against Amazon and Reliance Industries , who have made big bets on India's booming e-commerce market.

Bengaluru-based BigBasket competes with Walmart Inc-owned Flipkart and Amazon's "Fresh" service as more consumers stay indoors and choose to shop online during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Tata Group and BigBasket did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

China's Alibaba <9988.HK>, which holds around 26% stake in BigBasket, is expected to sell its entire shareholding in the company, the Economic Times reported.

"While the talks have been ongoing for some time, it is still work-in-progress as far as the specifics go. It may eventually not lead to a transaction at all," the newspaper cited one of the sources.

Separately, the Mint newspaper also reported on Wednesday that Tata Group could pay $500 million-$700 million for a controlling stake in BigBasket. The paper had earlier said that BigBasket was looking to raise $200 million for a fresh funding round and was in talks with the Tata Group.

 

(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)