Amazon-Jabong deal falls through

Amazon’s proposed deal to buy Rocket Internet-backed Indian lifestyle e-tailer Jabong, which could have been the biggest ever buy for the US-based e-commerce giant, has been called off. The two companies had met in November to discuss the potential deal.

Jabong is now concentrating on its global integration into Global Fashion Group (GFG), which will be operational in the next two to three months. GFG is an emerging market-focused fashion e-commerce firm. Apart from Jabong, GFG would have Dafiti (Latin America), Lamoda (Russia and CIS), Namshi (Middle East) and Zalora (South East Asia and Australia) covering 23 countries.

Talks of a potential deal between Amazon and Jabong gained momentum soon after Flipkart bought Jabong’s rival Myntra. If the deal had progressed, it would have been a landmark development and the largest M&A in the e-commerce space in India. It could have pitched Amazon as a much stronger competitor for the Flipkart-Myntra combine.

Jabong is one of the two top lifestyle e-tailers in the country along with Myntra. Besides Rocket Internet, it also counts Swedish investment group Kinnevik as a shareholder. Amazon is also reportedly in talks to buy London-based luxury fashion products e-tailer Net-A-Porter. Italian online fashion retailer Yoox has inked a deal to buy Net-A-Porter.