Snapdeal to buy logistic firm GoJavas for Rs200 cr

E-commerce marketplace Snapdeal is in advanced talks to acquire logistic firm GoJavas in a deal worth Rs150-200 crore, as it looks to further strengthen its delivery operations in the country.

The deal with GoJavas is in advanced stages and could be announced in the next 10-15 days, according to reports.

Kunal Bahl-led Snapdeal is also close to sealing a Rs2,500-crore deal to acquire online mobile recharge platform Freecharge.

Snapdeal, with a kitty of $1 billion, seems to be eying about half-a-dozen acquisitions this year. Bahl had indicated that the target companies would be across sizes, ranging from less than $1 million (about Rs6.28 crore) to $100 million (about Rs628 crore).

The New Delhi-based e-commerce company has made five acquisitions so far and the new acquisitions are part of its plan to turn up the heat on rival Flipkart.

GoJavas, which works with e-commerce firms like HealthKart, Jabong, Yepme and Lenskart, covers over 2,500 pincodes in the country.

Snapdeal has over 25 million registered users and more than 50,000 business sellers. Currently, it does not have a captive delivery arm and relies on third-party logistics.

The New Delhi-based e-commerce firm, which raised about $1 billion (roughly Rs6,294 crore) last year, including $627 million from Japan's SoftBank, has been scouting for acquisitions in mobile technology and supply chain space.

Besides, the company has invested in setting up fulfilment centres to smoothen its delivery operations. Currently, it has 50 such centres across 20 cities and plans to expand this to 75 in 30 cities in the next few months.

Snapdeal counts global e-commerce giant eBay, Temasek, Myriad, Tybourne, Blackrock Inc and Premji Invest among its investors. Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata also made a personal investment in the company.