Ayushi Mehta
CCI Approved Tata’s acquisition for BigBasket
One of the biggest companies in India- Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. takes over Alibaba Holding Ltd. backed BigBasket on Thursday when the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved Big Basket’s acquisition by Tata Sons.
This deal between the Tata Company and BigBasket has put the Tata Group in a direct completion with other big companies like Amazon, Walmart and Flipkart.
Tata Digital, a subsidiary owned by Tata Sons completely, had asked for the Competition Commission of India’s approval to get a hold of 64.3% stake of Big Basket, through a mix of primary and secondary share purchases. The application for the same was filed earlier in the month of March earlier this year.
The news was made public when CCI Tweeted about this saying- “Commission approves acquisition by Tata Digital Limited of up to 64.3% of the total share capital of Supermarket Grocery Supplies Private Ltd (SGS) and SGS’ sole control over Innovative Retail Concepts Private Limited”
For the deal to take place, the Tata Group had finalized $1.2 Billion. Almost $250 million would be primary cash infusion.
This deal is by far the biggest acquisition deals in India’s digital sector. The deal could also include a plan to take Big Basket public by 2022-23, giving investors who remain an upside in the near term.
Tata Group also plans to buyout Alibaba, which controls a 27.58% stake, and Actis LLP that owns 18.05% in BigBasket.
Big Basket is currently at the top in the online grocery market and claims to have crossed over $1 billion annual revenue run rate mark till September last year, which is still currently maintained by growing demand for online groceries due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation.