Ratan Tata, Temasek and others give nod to Snapdeal-Flipkart merger

In yet another development in the long winding Flipkart-Snapdeal merger talks, sources said that Tata Group chairman emeritus Ratan Tata, Temasek, BlackRock and Foxconn all high profile shareholders in the Gurgaon based online marketplace have given in-principal approval to the deal.

However none of the shareholders could be contacted to confirm or deny the news. According to some sources, Premji Invest and Ontario Pension Fund still have not given their nod to the merger. Snapdeal refused to comment on the issue. For the deal to go ahead, at least 75 percent of minority shareholders had to give a nod.

Getting a nod to the deal from shareholders is important as it is part of the clauses in the deal agreement. "Flipkart wants all the shareholders to agree to the deal. If that does not happen, then the ecommerce player might decide to not move ahead with the deal," said a source close to Snapdeal board.

However there are around 30 more shareholders who have to still give their assent to the deal. Source said that Snapdeal board asked for a nod from minority shareholders on the revised Flipkart deal, worth $950 million-$970 million.

Some of the investors include SoftBank Corp, ru-Net Holdings, Tybourne Capital, PremjiInvest, Alibaba Group, Temasek Holdings, Bessemer Venture Partners, IndoUS Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Saama Capital, Foxconn Technology Group, BlackRock, eBay, Nexus Venture Partners, Intel Capital, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Singapore-based investment entity Brother Fortune Apparel and Ratan Tata.