Tata Sons' subsidiary Tata Digital on Friday said it has acquired a majority stake in supermarket grocery supplies private limited, the company which is better known as BigBasket.
In April, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved Tata Digital's proposed acquisition of 64.3 percent stake in Supermarket Grocery Supplies Private Ltd (SGS), which operates the business-to-business arm of the online grocery firm BigBasket.
The proposed combination involves acquisition by Tata Digital Limited (TDL) of up to 64.3 percent of the total share capital of SGS (on a fully diluted basis) through a combination of primary and secondary acquisitions, in one or more series of steps.
Subsequently, through a separate transaction, SGS may acquire sole control over Innovative Retail Concepts Private Limited (IRC).
The proposed combination will result in the acquisition by TDL of majority stake of and control over SGS, IANS had said.
E-grocery fastest growing segment
According to the company, E-grocery has been one of the fastest growing segments in the consumer e-commerce space and its growth is propelled with India's rising consumption and digital penetration.
"The current pandemic has further accelerated its adoption as consumers seek the convenience of ordering quality groceries delivered safely at home."
In the e-grocery space, BigBasket provides one of the largest assortments with the convenience of home deliveries on preferred dates and timeslots.
Besides, it operates a farm-to-fork supply chain with over 12,000 farmers and several collection centers across India.
"Grocery is one of the largest components of an individual's consumption basket in India, and BigBasket as India's largest e-grocery player, fits in perfectly with our vision of creating a large consumer digital ecosystem," Pratik Pal, CEO of Tata Digital was quoted as saying in a company statement, IANS said.
At present, Tata Group is building a digital consumer ecosystem addressing consumer needs across categories in a unified manner.
"Accordingly, this acquisition presents an attractive opportunity for Tata Group in its overall vision of creating a digital ecosystem."
In March 2019, BigBasket had raised $150 million from Mirae, Alibaba and CDC Group, which placed the Bengaluru-based company in the unicorn club (companies with valuation of $1 billion and above).
The company had then said it planned to utilise the proceeds of this fundraising to further penetrate into existing markets with more investments in the first mile, scaling-up of its supply chain and for developing new reseller channels.
Founded in 2011, BigBasket operates in 25 Indian cities. It competes with SoftBank-backed Grofers as well as Amazon India and Flipkart.
(With inputs from IANS)
