Snapdeal’s vision has always been to create life-changing experiences for millions of buyers and sellers across India,” a Snapdeal spokesperson said. Flipkart did not respond to queries from Business Standard. SoftBank was quick to react. “Supporting entrepreneurs and their vision and aspirations is at the heart of Masayoshi Son’s and SoftBank’s investment philosophy,” the Japanese investor said. While stating that it respects the decision (of Snapdeal) to pursue an independent strategy, SoftBank added, “We look forward to the results of the Snapdeal 2.0 strategy, and to remaining invested in the vibrant Indian e-commerce space.” For now, SoftBank would retain its two seats in the Snapdeal board, it is learnt.
SoftBank, while orchestrating the merger with Flipkart, worked on convincing Snapdeal board members including the founders, early stage investors Nexus Venture Partners (NVP) and Kalaari Capital to get on board with the deal. But it was never able to get the vote of all the board members with founders vetoing against the merger every time it was tabled. According to sources, NVP also supported the founders since the beginning. However, finally agreeing with the Snapdeal board, SoftBank agreed to let Bahl go ahead with his plan.