Deal Talk: Snapdeal pitches for $100 mn from SoftBank, others; Guesture seeks $50 mn

Well over three years after it was last able to attract capital, Jasper Infotech, the Delhi headquartered company that owns ecommerce marketplace Snapdeal, has initiated talks to raise about $100 million from new and existing investors, including existing investor SoftBank Group Corp, The Economic Times reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

The round, the report said, could fetch the company, valued at about $6.5 billion on the eve of its implosion in early 2017, a post-money valuation of anywhere between $800 million and $1.2 billion. SoftBank is committing to half of the round, the report added.

Snapdeal last raised $200 million in February 2016 from investors, including Canada’s largest pension trust, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. Soon after, its valuation depreciated significantly, especially a failed merger bid with its Bengaluru-based rival Flipkart.

Talk about the potential $100 million funding round comes at a time when Snapdeal’s Delhi-based rival Shopclues is in the process of being acquired by Singapore-based Qoo10 in what appears to be a distress sale. Incidentally, not too long ago, there was also speculation of a Snapdeal-ShopClues merger, which eventually didn’t materialise.

Snapdeal’s parent reported a 70% year-over-year fall in consolidated losses at Rs 186 crore in financial year 2018-2019.

In other deal news being reported this morning, coliving startup Guesture is in talks with investors to raise $50 million, as it looks to expand its presence to other cities, a Mint report said, citing a company director, Pramod Kumar.

The Bengaluru-based subsidiary of Shanders Group, is developing a 40-acre youth city in Electronic City, Phase 2, and plans to have around 4,00,000 beds across 20 micro-markets in different parts of the country by 2025, the report added.

“We are in discussion with private equity funds, strategic investors and sovereign funds. We are also exploring raising funds from global markets and exchanges," Kumar told the newspaper. The company plans to close the funding round in the next 12 months.

Founded in 2015, the students and millennial-focused startup currently runs two properties that cater to working professionals, students from Symbiosis, Azim Premji University, IFIM Business School among others.

Recently, OYO Life, the fully managed housing rental division of the hospitality chain’s real estate business, shared its one-year milestone footprint figures. Nestaway, StayAbode, Stanza Living and Zolo Stays are some of the other operators in the space in India.

Meanwhile, digital payments unicorn Paytm plans to invest Rs 500 crore in early stage startups focused on developing technology aligned with the digital payments universe, Mint reported today.

Paytm will target artificial intelligence-based technology and big data solutions for new innovations while choosing the startups, the financial daily reported. It will also select startups working on solutions that address consumers in the hinterlands to capture the next wave of growth, the report added.