eBay, the American e-commerce giant which is considered to be one of the more influential shareholder in India’s second largest e-commerce brand Snapdeal, is now looking to dish out 1/3rd of its 9% stake within the company in an upcoming round, reports Livemint.
eBay, which earlier held a larger stake in Snapdeal, sold out a large part during Softbank’s $627 Million investment into Snapdeal last year. However, eBay continued to hold a significant 9% stake, which it will now further reduce during closure of Snapdeal’s next round.
As per multiple reports, Snapdeal has already finalised its next round from two Chinese behemoths, Foxconn and Alibaba. Both these brands are expected to buy into eBay’s stake, as the pump in $500 Million to help Snapdeal continue with its deep-discount model.
eBay on the other hand, has been trying to get hold off the Indian market, ever since it started its operations within the subcontinent in 2004. However, eBay India met a fate, similar to Yahoo Shopping or Rediff Shopping, failing to withstand a more focused and consumer-centric approach by new-age companies like Flipkart, Snapdeal and many others.
But with a stake purchase in Snapdeal, eBay hinted towards a renewed focus on the Indian market, not with its own brand name, but by backing, in what now has become, India’s second larget e-commerce brand. However, this fresh piece of report, is an indication, that eBay might finally exit India altogether as a market, considering it failed to make any name for its own brands, which is contrary to its U.S. rival Amazon.
