E-commerce company Lazada has entered advanced talks to acquire e-grocer Redmart in a deal that would give an exit to internet company Garena and telecommunications firm SoftBank, TechCrunch has reported.
Redmart is reportedly seeking funding but a source told TechCrunch Lazada could acquire the company, which has raised approximately $55m in venture funding since it was founded in 2011, for between $30m and $40m in a transaction that could be agreed as soon as next week.
Redmart runs an online platform that sells groceries to customers in its home country of Singapore. It began raising a $100m round in January 2016 but has not been able to secure financing.
Garena provided $4.6m in series A capital for Redmart in 2013 before leading a $23m series B round the following year that included SoftBank’s corporate venturing vehicle, Softbank Capital, as well as Visionnaire Ventures and private investor Eduardo Saverin
Redmart subsequently raised $26.7m in bridge funding from Garena, Softbank Ventures Korea, Visionnaire Ventures, Saverin and Far East Ventures, the venture capital arm of property developer Far East Organisation, in August 2015.
The Alibaba discussions follow talks with supermarket chain NTUC and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, according to a TechCrunch source. E-commerce firm Amazon made a “lowball offer” that was rejected by Redmart, according to a different source.
Founded in Singapore in 2012, Lazada operates an e-commerce platform that sells a wide range of consumer products. China-based e-commerce group Alibaba paid $1bn for a 67% stake in the company in April this year.