TVS Logistics and Future Group’s logistics unit Future Supply Chain Solutions are looking to either acquire a majority stake or completely acquire Snapdeal’s logistics firm Vulcan Express, a report in a financial daily stated, citing people aware of the development.
Two private equity firms specialising in acquisitions and logistics are also in talks with Snapdeal for the buyout, The Economic Times report added.
“Discussions are taking place across multiple fronts and the parties are hoping to sew up a deal before July, which is when the Goods and Services Tax rolls out,†one of the sources was quoted as saying in the report.
Email queries sent to Snapdeal, TVS Logistics, and Future Supply Chain seeking confirmation did not elicit a response at the time of filing this report.
Vulcan Express was formed by Snapdeal in 2016 when it abandoned its move to acquire logistics firm GoJavas, where it had a majority stake. Vijay Ghadge, who was previously chief executive officer at GoJavas, was heading Snapdeal's logistics arm, but quit in November 2016.
Snapdeal, run by Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd., has been inching closer to a merger with bigger rival Flipkart. The troubled e-commerce venture also hired law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas to advise them on the merger transaction.
Snapdeal’s payments arm, FreeCharge, has also been in talks with multiple players for a potential sale. Earlier this week, it was reported that FreeCharge had been approached by rival wallet company Mobikwik for a merger. Besides MobiKwik, FreeCharge was earlier reported to be in talks with several strategic companies, including Paytm, PayPal and PayU.
In February, Snapdeal laid off 500-600 employees across the e-commerce marketplace and its subsidiaries, mobile wallet Freecharge and logistics wing Vulcan Express. At that time, Snapdeal's co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal wrote an email to their staff saying, “As part of our overall path to profitability plan that is currently in full swing, we will be reorganising the company into a lean, focused, and entrepreneurial one.â€
According to Snapdeal’s standalone financials, the company’s employee expenses for the year through March 2016 more than doubled to Rs 911 crore from Rs 367 crore the year before.