The Tata group has completed the purchase of a majority stake in online grocery BigBasket that would pitch the conglomerate against established heavyweights such as Amazon, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), and Walmart Inc.-owned Flipkart in India’s booming e-commerce market. The deal was carried out by Tata Digital, a wholly-owned unit of the Tata group’s holding entity Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Separately, regulatory filings dated 27 May showed that Tata Digital had committed an investment of Rs 1,591 crore ($219 million) in BigBasket, of which the e-grocer has received Rs 1,116 crore (about $154 million).

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Supermarket Grocery Supplies Pvt. Ltd, the owner, and operator of BigBasket’s B2B business, issued 11 million fully paid-up and 4.7 million partly paid-up equity shares at Rs 1,005.59 a share to Tata Digital to raise Rs 1,116 crore, according to filings with the corporate affairs ministry.

BigBasket’s largest shareholders, Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, and private equity firm Actis have fully exited the company, said a person aware of the deal. The founders of BigBasket and some early investors also made partial exits, the person said, requesting anonymity.

“Grocery is one of the largest components of an individual’s consumption basket in India and BigBasket, as India’s largest e-grocery player, fits in perfectly with our vision of creating a large consumer digital ecosystem. We are delighted to welcome BigBasket as a part of Tata Digital,” said Pratik Pal, chief executive of Tata Digital. E-mailed queries to BigBasket remained unanswered until press time.

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