India opportunity for eBay; leads $133mn Snapdeal invstmnt

Aimed at tapping the "huge opportunity" in Indian e-commerce space, eBay is leading a USD 133.77 million (about Rs 830 crore) investment in online market place Snapdeal.The US-based firm led a group of investors including Kalaari Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Intel Capital and Saama Capital to invest in the New Delhi-based Snapdeal.Last year in April, Snapdeal had raised USD 50 million from eBay-led group of investors.After this round of funding, the total investments raised so far by the homegrown online marketplace rose to over USD 235 million (about Rs 2,457 crore)."We are excited to grow eBay India under a great management team and to invest in the complementary Marketplace Snapdeal. India is a huge opportunity," eBay President Marketplaces Devin Wenig said in a Twitter post."Multiple brands working together improves overall chance of success. We've done same successfully in other markets," he added.Growing wealth, acceptance of technology and smartphone penetration will help the e-commerce market in the world's second most populous country, Wenig said."India market growth will accelerate, helped by improvements in payments, delivery, and smartphone penetration. Growing wealth, high acceptance of technology, commerce arbitrage and other factors driving exceptional growth rates in Indian digital commerce," he added.Meanwhile, late yesterday night, both eBay and Snapdeal in separate statements said eBay was leading a new USD 133.77 million round of funding in Snapdeal, raising its stake in the company following an initial investment made in 2013.Accelerating growth in India and other emerging markets continues to be a core strategy for driving eBay's global e-commerce leadership, eBay Senior VP and APAC Managing Director Jay Lee said."We continue to invest in Snapdeal due to its complementary business model, good management team and strong brand," he added.Commenting on the deal, Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl said: "All our current institutional investors including Kalaari Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Intel Capital and Saama Capital have participated in this round as well which is a strong endorsement of our team."