MAM
ValueFirst snaps up mGinger.com
MUMBAI: Digital media firm ValueFirst Messaging has made its third acquisition of the year by buying Bangalore-based mGinger in an all-cash deal.
The buy from Gingersoft Media comes as a step towards entering the mobile advertising realm.
In 2007, Ginger Media raised $2 million from IndoUS Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
ValueFirst has also bought out way2online (which owns and operates both way2sms and 160by2) and Indyarocks since the beginning of the year.
The company said the acquisition will give ValueFirst access to an additional four million opted-in registered users, apart from its existing base of 50 million subscribers across various other assets. It will also help leverage mGinger‘s strong brand name and relationship with agencies.
ValueFirst was launched in 2003 and is backed by NEA and Headland Asian Ventures. The company has been pushing inorganic growth, having acquired mobile VAS firm Cellnext Solutions in October 2009 in an all-cash deal and Noida-based telecom software and product development firm Packet Shaper. The company also acquired a majority stake in the social media firm Tagg.in in April 2010 for an undisclosed sum.
ValueFirst MD Vish Bajaj said, “mGinger was pioneer in permission-based marketing and ended up building a huge profiled base of consumers for niche targeting. ValueFirst has big plans for the business where we want to extend the permission-based approach to markets beyond SMS – to various platforms like the Internet, voice and e-mail. In the recent months, mGinger had pivoted to promoting deals. We are evaluating what to do with the deals part of the business and will currently focus on scaling its media business.”
Brands
Flipkart completes reverse flip to India ahead of IPO
Walmart-owned e-commerce giant shifts domicile from Singapore to Bengaluru
MUMBAI: Flipkart has completed its restructuring to move its parent company from Singapore back to India, marking a key milestone as the Walmart-owned marketplace prepares for a potential initial public offering on Indian stock exchanges, ET reported, citing people aware of the matter.
The move, often referred to as a “reverse flip”, relocates the company’s legal home to India and aligns its corporate structure more closely with its largest market. It also clears an important regulatory step for Flipkart as it explores listing plans.
As part of the restructuring, several Singapore-based entities have been merged into Flipkart Internet Private Limited, which will now serve as the main holding company for the entire group.
The consolidation brings a number of major businesses directly under the Indian parent company. These include fashion platform Myntra, logistics arm Ekart, travel booking platform Cleartrip, healthcare marketplace Flipkart Health, and fintech venture Super.money.
Under the new structure, global investors including Walmart, Microsoft, SoftBank, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will hold their stakes directly in the Indian entity rather than through an overseas holding company.
The redomiciliation required approval from the Indian government because Chinese technology company Tencent owns around a 5 to 6 per cent stake in Flipkart. Under Press Note 3, investments from countries sharing a land border with India require prior government clearance.
Flipkart had already secured approval from the National Company Law Tribunal in December. With the latest clearance from the central government, the company has now obtained all the regulatory approvals needed to complete the relocation, ET reported earlier.
Flipkart had originally shifted its holding structure to Singapore in 2011 to tap global capital more easily. However, as India’s capital markets have matured, several start-ups have begun returning their domiciles to the country ahead of public listings. Companies such as Razorpay, Groww, and Meesho have taken similar steps.
The company is now expected to move ahead with its IPO preparations and has begun early discussions with merchant bankers. According to people familiar with the matter, Flipkart could file its draft prospectus later this year, setting the stage for what may become one of the most closely watched listings in India’s e-commerce sector.
Flipkart has been majority-owned by Walmart since 2018, when the US retail giant acquired a 77 per cent stake in the company for $16 billion in one of the largest e-commerce deals globally.
