Once A Unicorn, Shopclues Now Acquired At Less than $100 Million Valuation

Qoo10 Pte Ltd., a Singapore-based e-commerce platform, acquired homegrown online marketplace ShopClues in an all-stock deal, two people familiar with the matter told BloombergQuint.

The transaction values ShopClues at just under $80 million valuation, one of the persons quoted earlier said requesting anonymity as the information is not public. That’s a steep fall from the $1.1-billion valuation it once commanded in 2015.

ShopClues, however, said that the firm has instead merged with Qoo10 in a stock deal. The deal has been approved by the board of directors and major shareholders of the company, it said in a statement.

While the online retailer declined to comment on the size of the deal, it said there won’t be any change in the management and workforce.

ShopClues had been looking for a buyer for more than six months now. Earlier it had tried to clinch a deal with rival Snapdeal. But the Kunal Bahl-led venture turned down the offer after weeks of due diligence raised some concerns.

The Economic Times first reported on the deal.

Founded in 2011, ShopClues says it has over 60 million “lifetime unique customers” and more than 7,00,000 merchants on its platform sell electronics, home and kitchen products in smaller towns in the country.

Merchants listed on ShopClues will now be able to access global markets via Qoo10’s presence in Southeast Asia, the two companies said. “Similarly, Qoo10’s merchants and its cross-border logistics business will get access to the large Indian market with their high quality, value-for-money products,” the statement said.