Snapdeal and Infibeam mutually agree to call off Unicommerce deal

Acquisition of Unicommerce by Infibeam from Snapdeal has been called off as both parties have mutually agreed not to give effect to the agreement which they signed in May this year.

Jasper Infotech Private Limited and Infibeam Corporation Limited (now Infibeam Avenues Limited) entered into the agreement for sale of 100 per cent shares of Unicommerce eSolutions Private Limited.

“Both parties have mutually decided not to give effect to the said agreement. Accordingly, there will be no change in the shareholding structure of Unicommerce, which will continue to operate as a profitable and independently managed company,” mentioned a press statement from Unicommerce.

Unicommerce claims to cater to more than 15 per cent of country’s e-commerce transactions and also has a growing presence in the Middle East and South Asia.

At a time of the agreement, the deal was considered as a part of the Snapdeal 2.0 plan to divest and focus on its core consumer e-commerce business. Infibeam intended to boost its e-commerce enablement capabilities and expand the offerings for Buildabazaar and GeM (Government e-Marketplace) through Unicommerce.

Infibeam has been going through a turmoil for the past three months. A WhatsApp message raising questions on Infibeam’s accounting policies and corporate governance had wiped out 71 per cent market cap of India first e-commerce listed firm in a single day (September 28).

It was one of the largest stock falls after Satyam Computers Services in January 2009. It lost about Rs 9,200 crore market cap in 24 hours.

Last month, Jason Kothari had left the Ahmedabad-based firm within five months of joining. Two weeks ago, Infibeam had signed MoU to sell its online marketplace to Mumbai-based fintech firm Suvidhaa Infoserve. The Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry-backed company already bought a 5 per cent stake in Infibeam.com for Rs 25 crore.