Chinese retailer buys Spice Group's mobile e-commerce property Saholic

In an instance of an offline retailer buying an ecommerce property, Chinese handset retailer Beijing Digital Telecom has acquired 49% stake in Spice Online Pvt. Ltd, the online retail arm of Spice Group, according to BSE filings.

Beijing Digital picked the stake through its Singapore-based subsidiary Digitone, run by New Idea Investment Pte. Ltd.

In an earlier filing, the company had said that it would be acquiring the stake for $2.5 million (about Rs 17 crore) from Spice Mobility Ltd and provide a loan of an equal amount.

In a separate filing, Spice Mobility had said that the stake sale will help it expand to the business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce market and gain from the investor's experience in the wholesale distribution of electronic devices.

In another transaction, Beijing Digital had said that it will take a 60% stake in a joint venture with Omni Ventures Pvt. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Spice Mobility, for $2.5 million and extend a shareholder loan of an equal amount.

The Indian company will hold the remaining 40% stake in the new venture.

Spice Online operates Saholic.com, a shopping portal for mobile phones, tablets, laptops and accessories.

On June 10, Spice Mobility said in a regulatory filing that another unit Hindustan Retail Pvt. Ltd agreed to transfer its 100% stake in Spice Online to Omni Ventures.

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