Snapdeal has been on an acquisition glut lately.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: The latest jewel in Snapdeal’s crown comes in the form of loan and credit card provider RupeePower, which it recently acquired a majority share in. Neither company disclosed the financial details of the deal, but TechCrunch was able to confirm that it is in fact a controlling stake.
Utilizing RupeePower’s infrastructure, Snapdeal intends to launch its own financial services marketplace and projects it will provide $1 billion in loans over the next two years through the new platform.
Snapdeal will partner with established banks to finance the loans while providing reach into markets that have been otherwise been difficult for traditional financial institutions to access.
“Financial Services companies will now be able to leverage Snapdeal’s nationwide reach across 5000+ towns and cities,” Snapdeal explained to TechCrunch. “Often resolving to following up on cold leads, these companies will be able to market and target their products and services to a captive audience on Snapdeal implying higher conversion vis-à-vis the traditional offline channels …The benefits thus [realized] by the financial services companies will be re-funneled and offered to customers as exclusive financial products/services offers on Snapdeal.”
Founded in 2011, RupeePower has connections to about 12 banks including the State Bank of India, according to Business Standard, and has backed about $24 million in loans to date.
Snapdeal has been on a bit of an acquisition glut lately — earlier this month, the New Delhi-based company made a minority investment in logistics startup GoJavas with some media outlets reporting the two companies have already begun acquisition talks.
YourStory Media reported Snapdeal has swallowed five other startups over the past five years, including retailer Grabbon.com, sports marketplace eSportsbuy, handicraft-focused marketplace Shopo.in, fashion-centric Doozton, and online gift shop Wishpicker.