Ahead of Flipkart’s acquisition of Snapdeal, Vani Kola resigns from board

Vani Kola, the representative of Kalaari Capital on Snapdeal board, has resigned ahead of the potential sale of the e-commerce firm to larger rival Flipkart.

Kola, who had been on the board of Jasper Infotech (which runs Snapdeal) since September 2009, resigned on May 2 from the post of Director, as per regulatory filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Without citing any specific reasons, Kola said she was unable to continue to be a part of Snapdeal board and requested to be discharged of her duties with “immediate effect”.

“I thank the board not only for giving me the opportunity and assistance to discharge my duties during my tenure as a Director of the company but also for the invaluable learnings, which I gained from my interactions with my fellow board members,” she said in the letter.

Emails sent to Snapdeal and Kola did not elicit any response.

Kalaari, an early investor in Snapdeal, holds about 8% stake in the country’s third largest online marketplace. The other board members of Snapdeal include SoftBank, Nexus Venture Partners and the founders — Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal.

With Kola’s exit, Kalaari has no representative on the Snapdeal board. It could not be ascertained if a replacement …read more