E-commerce group Alibaba has entered advanced negotiations to pay up to $100m for a “significant” minority stake in India-based logistics service provider Xpressbees, the Economic Times reported on Monday.
The deal is in the final stages of discussion, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, with one source saying it will likely close in the next two to three weeks. The companies have been in talks for about 18 months.
Originally spun out of children’s and babycare e-commerce company FirstCry, Xpressbees provides logistics services such as last-mile delivery, payment collection, cross-border and fulfilment services to e-commerce operators.
The company had already raised $5m when it received funding from existing investors SAIF Partners, IDG Ventures India, New Enterprise Associates, Vertex Ventures and Valiant Capital in a February 2016 round that eventually closed at $12.4m.
The deal would strengthen Alibaba’s position in India, which has already been buoyed by investments in financial services provider One97 Communications and e-commerce companies Snapdeal and BigBasket.
In addition to Alibaba’s direct investments, its financial services affiliate Ant Financial is in talks to supply up to $200m in funding for India-based online restaurant listings platform Zomato, accroding to ET.