No Snapdeal Deal for Alibaba?

In what may be another round of rumors surrounding Indian eCommerce company Snapdeal to be quashed, the firm will not be bought by China’s Alibaba Group Holding. Reuters said there was no deal in the works, citing an unnamed source last week “familiar with the matter,” and that might be enough to take that rumor down for a while.

As noted by Quartz, talk that Alibaba may make a play for Snapdeal has popped up several times over the past year. The latest claims surfaced after a co-investor of Alibaba’s head Jack Ma, Masayoshi Son, was spotted in India. Social media, including Twitter, featured some speculation that a deal a might be in the offing.

Quartz said that in its own talks with industry observers, unsubstantiated rumors “could affect the brand” and employees of the India firm. The continuous chatter that Snapdeal is a takeout may lead to the appearance that Snapdeal is a non-performing asset. And as has been already reported, eCommerce in India is going through a bit of a shakeout. At the company’s own office, some employees, unnamed by Quartz, have been feeling demoralized by the rumors. 

“The reports are scary because these are big media outlets that are putting out the stories,” said a Quartz source. “Even though the management tries to communicate with the teams and reassure them, it’s an additional stress on employees who are already working in a stressful environment.”