Snapdeal Parent AceVector Sets ₹30-₹32 Price Band For ₹420 Cr IPO

Snapdeal parent AceVector has set a price band of ₹30-₹32 per share for its ₹420 Cr IPO, valuing the company at ₹1,741 Cr (about $182 Mn).

The public issue marks AceVector’s second attempt to list after it shelved its ₹1,250 Cr IPO plan in 2022 amid market volatility.

The IPO comprises a fresh issue of up to ₹287 Cr and an offer for sale of up to 4.16 Cr by investors like SoftBank, Nexus Ventures, among others.

Snapdeal parent AceVector has set a price band of ₹30-₹32 per equity share for its IPO, valuing the company at up to ₹1,741.4 Cr ($181.7 Mn) at the upper end.

The IPO comprises a fresh issue of shares worth ₹287 Cr and an offer for sale of up to 4.16 Cr shares. At ₹32 per share, the size of the IPO is ₹420 Cr. 

The IPO will open for public subscription on Friday (September 25), following anchor bidding on Thursday (September 24). It will close on September 29. AceVector’s shares are expected to list on the BSE and NSE on October 5.

AceVector reduced the fresh issue by ₹13 Cr from the ₹300 Cr proposed in its UDRHP after raising the same amount through a pre-IPO placement. It also cut the OFS component by 34.9% from the earlier proposed 6.39 Cr shares.

SoftBank’s Starfish I Pte Ltd, AceVector’s largest shareholder and part of its promoter group, will sell up to 2.76 Cr shares through the OFS. At the upper end of the price band, the stake sale will fetch Starfish up to ₹88.3 Cr.

The IPO marks AceVector’s second attempt to tap the public markets after its earlier listing plans were shelved in 2022. 

AceVector’s Growth Push

AceVector operates three businesses — ecommerce marketplace Snapdeal, listed SaaS enablement platform Unicommerce, and house of brands Stellaro Brands. Snapdeal and Unicommerce account for the bulk of its operations, with the latter separately listing on the stock exchanges in 2024.

The company reported consolidated operating revenue of ₹510.4 Cr in FY26, up 29.2% from ₹395 Cr in FY25. Its restated consolidated loss narrowed 64% to ₹45.5 Cr from ₹126.3 Cr during the period. 

AceVector’s adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to ₹15.9 Cr in FY26 from ₹39.2 Cr in FY25, according to its RHP. 

At the company’s IPO press conference, cofounder and CEO Kunal Bahl said AceVector has built an asset-light digital commerce ecosystem, with a focus on operating leverage, profitability and cash flow generation. 

A key focus of the fresh issue is funding Snapdeal’s marketing and technology initiatives. The marketplace generated operating revenue of ₹293.7 Cr in FY26. 

Snapdeal’s net merchandise value rose to ₹1,093.1 Cr in FY26 from ₹869.6 Cr in FY25. Delivered units increased to 25.98 Mn from 19.91 Mn, while annual transacting customers grew to 12.16 Mn from 10.43 Mn.

Management said Snapdeal’s business volumes have grown 75% over the past two years, while its customer base has expanded 55%. Repeat customers accounted for 83% of its volumes in FY26, while purchase frequency increased 19% during the year.

The company said its top 10% of app customers shop on the platform around 18 times a year. App users accounted for 94% of orders, with app volumes growing 138% over the past two years. Management said the rising share of repeat app users was helping lower customer acquisition costs. 

Bahl told Inc42 that Snapdeal’s priorities would be volume growth, expansion within its core categories, and better merchandising. However, the marketplace does not plan to enter new categories or price segments in the near future.

Snapdeal is positioning itself as a fashion-led value ecommerce platform, with home and beauty and personal care as adjacent categories. Around 84% of its customers reside in non-metro geographies, with young consumers comprising a majority of the customer base.

Fashion contributes more than 60% of Snapdeal’s business, followed by home decor and furnishings at 20%-22% and beauty and personal care at around 11%.

The platform’s average selling price is around ₹420, with products priced below ₹600 accounting for 84% of sales. Snapdeal plans to remain focused on the ₹300-₹800 segment, where it sees demand from consumers seeking trendy products at affordable prices.

Logistics Costs Weigh On Snapdeal

Snapdeal follows a zero-commission model, under which sellers are not charged for listing or selling products on the platform. Its two primary revenue streams are logistics fees and advertising expenditure by sellers. The platform also does not levy platform, delivery, or convenience fees on consumers.
Against a gross margin of about ₹113 per delivered unit, Snapdeal incurs order-related expenses of around ₹71, including delivery and return costs. This leaves a contribution margin of approximately ₹42 per delivered unit, or around 10%. 

However, higher order volumes led to Snapdeal’s logistics expenses rising 32.7% YoY to ₹184.2 Cr in FY26 from ₹138.8 Cr in FY25. Its marketing and business promotion expenses increased 32.7% to ₹84.4 Cr from ₹63.2 Cr.

Management maintained that logistics costs per unit have declined with scale, while marketing costs per unit have fallen as more customers transact through the app and return to the platform without requiring additional acquisition spending.

Snapdeal is already contribution-margin positive after accounting for marketing and logistics expenses, the company said. It expects the contribution-margin pool to expand as order volumes increase without a proportionate rise in fixed expenses such as employee and cloud costs.

Around half of the fresh issue proceeds have been earmarked for Snapdeal’s marketing and business promotion expenses. The remaining proceeds will be used for acquisitions and general corporate purposes.

Management said the marketing expenditure would primarily be used to acquire new app users, while the technology investments would focus on upgrading the platform, improving personalisation, and deploying AI to enhance the shopping experience.