International technology, media and telecoms law firm Olswang advised Indian ecommerce marketplace Snapdeal on its acquisition of FreeCharge, India’s online mobile pre-paid recharge and bill payment platform. The deal, which was announced on 8 April, is considered India’s cross-border consumer internet deal to date and likely makes Snapdeal the country’s mobile commerce platform.
Snapdeal, founded in 2010, is one of India’s fastest growing internet companies, raising more than $1.1 billion in 8 rounds from 16 investors, including Bessemer, Intel and Temasek, with its single investor being Japan’s Softbank.
As Snapdeal’s fifth acquisition in the last year, the FreeCharge deal brings Snapdeal’s user base to more than 40 million, and both platforms combined now witness more than one million transactions daily. FreeCharge will continue to function as an independent platform, and the deal will allow both companies to provide their rapidly growing customer base with a seamless shopping experience across both platforms and offer an even wider range of products.
Olswang’s Singapore office advised on Snapdeal’s acquisition of FreeCharge, since the acquiree operates through a Singapore holding company structure. FreeCharge’s key investors, including Sequoia and RuNet, have become shareholders in Snapdeal in a cash-cum-shares deal (estimated at over US$400 million).
The Olswang team was led by consultant Azmul Haque, with assistance from associate Elizabeth Maynard, who worked alongside Snapdeal’s Indian counsel, Khaitan & Co, Bangalore office.
Azmul Haque, who also leads Olswang’s India Desk from Singapore, commented: “It was a pleasure to advise Snapdeal on its overseas acquisition and work on such a dynamic, marketing-moving deal. This is the example of how Olswang’s unique strengths in cross-border M&A combined with the firm’s market-practice of advising retail, e-commerce and technology clients came together for a landmark transaction in an exciting market like India, where technology company valuations are at an all-time high.”
To learn more about Olswang’s international legal practice, visit www.olswang.com.
