Tata Group buyout of Bigbasket could close by the end of the month; Alibaba may exit: CNBC

Tata Group is in the last stages of acquiring a majority stake in e-grocer Bigbasket, and could close the deal by the end of the month, a CNBC report said on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The multinational conglomerate is also likely to purchase Alibaba's 29.1 percent stake in the startup, as well as the stakes of some other investors, such as Abraaj Group, Ascent Capital, Helion Venture Partners, Mirae Asset Naver Asia, and Sands Capital, among others, the CNBC report added.

Bigbasket, Tata or Alibaba did not immediately respond to YourStory's request for a comment on CNBC's report.

Tata is likely to pay roughly $1 billion for a 50 percent stake in the Bengaluru-based company, news reports said, citing unnamed sources briefed on the matter. Bigbasket's valuation, as of March 2020, was around $1.23 billion, according to Tofler, a company research platform.

The majority stake pickup by Tata in Bigbasket could bolster the salt-to-software company's position as India's first super app, and will also likely list all of Tata Digital's consumer services.

There has been speculation that the deal is beneficial for Bigbasket since it will give the Hari Menon-led startup a buffer against the Indian government's heightened restrictions on Chinese investments in light the of recent border spats, as well as give it the firepower necessary to take on Reliance's JioMart.

Tata is also reportedly eyeing a stake in e-pharmacy startup 1MG as part of its broader ecommerce push, news reports have said, although the deal is still not finalised and talks are still likely in very early stages.

Recently, a cyber intelligence firm reported that Bigbasket has faced a potential data breach that could have leaked details of around two crore users. The startup said that it had lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime Cell in Bengaluru, and was evaluating the extent of the breach.

However, Bigbasket added that it does not store any financial data, including credit card numbers, and was confident that this financial data was secure.