Rival online grocery chains BigBasket and Grofers are in talks for a possible merger, Mint reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The talks are in early stages but Grofers' backer Softbank has agreed to participate in a $60-100 million fundraising round if the companies merge.
BigBasket, which last raised $150 million in funding in 2016 in a deal that valued it at $450 million to $500 million, is seeking a valuation of up to $800 million, while smaller rival Grofers's valuation would be in the ballpark of upto $200 million, said the Mint report.
If it goes through, this would be the second big merger among Indian online retail startup space, and the second that Softbank seems keen on backing.
According to media reports, Softbank has begun talks to make an investment in Paytm, as the payments player readies to buy rival Freecharge, a subsidiary of Softbank-backed e-retailer Snapdeal.
Snapdeal and Flipkart are separately currently in merger talks, with Goldman Sachs reportedly acting as adviser to Flipkart, and Credit Suisse advising Snapdeal. The Flipkart and Snapdeal merger would be the largest merger deal in the Indian e-retail space, according to VCCircle.