India’s Tata group will buy a 68% stake in online grocery startup BigBasket for about ₹9500 crore ($1.31 billion), television channel ET Now said on Tuesday, citing sources.
The salt-to-software conglomerate has been planning to launch a “super app” that will tie in all its consumer businesses, according to media reports, as it competes against Amazon.com Inc and Reliance Industries Ltd in India’s booming e-commerce market.
Bengaluru-based BigBasket competes with Walmart Inc-owned Flipkart and Amazon’s “Fresh” service as more consumers stay indoors and choose to shop online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tata’s stake will translate into an enterprise value of ₹13,500 crore for BigBasket, which is backed by Alibaba, ET Now said.
BigBasket top management, including co-founder Hari Menon, are likely to stay on for three to four years, according to the report.
Tata group and BigBasket said they had no comments on the matter.
