New Delhi: Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus and former chairman of Tata Sons, is reported to be exploring a personal investment in Snapdeal, an ecommerce firm, at a time when there is a huge buzz around e-tailing in India.
In a report published in the Economic Times, Tata could buy out early stage investors through a secondary sale, though there is no confirmation of the stake he could acquire. The report also mentions a visit by Tata at Snapdeal's Delhi office.
Earlier, Snapdeal founder Kunal Bahl said he is being aggressively pursued by investors who want a piece of his company.
Snapdeal's existing investors included Nexus Venture Partners, BlackRock, Singapore's Temasek and Bessemer Venture Partners among others.
Tata's interest comes on heels of recent growth in Indian e-commerce arena, which is now pegged at $13 billion. As internet penetration and mobile data usage picks up, it is estimated that the space will throw up immense opportunities for investors.
India's largest e-tailer, Flipkart.com recently raised $1 bn, with investments from Tiger Global, Accel and Naspers, all of whom have board representation. Shortly after Flipkart's announcement, Amazon India said it would invest $2 bn in its India operations.
