Tata Group buys commanding stake in grocery major BigBasket

Tata Sons has bought a 64 per cent stake in the Alibaba-sponsored online grocery seller BigBasket.

The deal is significant since online grocery shopping has picked up big time during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns that followed.

“Grocery is one of the largest components of an individual’s consumption basket in India, and BigBasket as India’s largest e-grocery player, fits in perfectly with our vision of creating a large consumer digital ecosystem,” said Pratik Pal, CEO of Tata Digital, the wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, in an official statement issued recently.

Pal said the Tata Group looks at this deal as a “an attractive opportunity in its overall vision of creating a digital ecosystem.”

Economic Times reported that BigBasket’s board of directors has given a green signal to the deal. Accordingly, Tata Digital has put in primary capital of $200 million in the company at a post-money valuation of $2 billion. This also means that Chinese Group Alibaba has completely exited the hyperlocal grocery group.

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By buying a majority stake in Bigbasket, the Tata Group has entered the highly competitive food e-commerce segment, where it will have to compete with Amazon, Flipkart, JioMart and SoftBank-backed Grofers.

Tata Digital’s offer to acquire 64.3% stake in BigBasket got the Competition Commission of India’s nod in April.

BigBasket CEO Hari Menon said the company was “extremely excited” about its future as part of the Tata Group.

About BigBasket

Supermarket Grocery Supplies Pvt. Ltd., trading as BigBasket, is an Indian online grocery delivery service founded in 2011. The company primarily delivers grocery goods found in convenience stores, home essentials and food supplies to its customers. BigBasket was founded in December 2011 and has its headquarters in Bengaluru. BigBasket is one of the biggest players in the e-grocery segment and has the reputation of providing timely home deliveries. It has a farm-to-fork supply chain with a network of over 12,000 farmers and several collection centers all over the country.

Currently, BigBasket has a presence in more than 25 cities all over the country.