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Valuation of Dotcom Companies: Private Equity Venture Capital
Valuation of Dotcom Companies: Private Equity Venture Capital
Beneath the gloss of scorching growth and valuations of Indian e‐commerce companies, there
are nagging questions about their accounting practices and ownership patterns that recall the
Internet bubble of 2000. These two questions are central to the operations of the poster boy of
e‐commerce in India: flipkart.com, the 70‐crore online retailer of books and electronics that is
reportedly close to bagging a private equity investment at a valuation of $1 billion (about 4,500
crore). They also have a bearing on a clutch of other companies, including Flipkart, Myntra and
Snapdeal. According to Grant Thornton, in the first six months of calendar 2011, private equity
firms invested $108 million in nine e‐commerce companies.
Valuations, though, are a concern. "I think it (valuations in general) is a bubble, though I hope it
is not," says K Vaitheeswaran, founder of Indiaplaza.com, who has lived through two crashes in
his 12 years in this business. Adds Mahesh Murthy, a venture capitalist: "In these cases of high
Indian valuation, the number seems to be driven by the 'find a greater fool theory' ‐ where you
believe it is okay to value someone at $1 billion because you think you can find a fool who will
buy it from you at $3 billion in a few years."
Inflating Profits in Current Year
The first issue relates to the credibility of the net profit number that some e‐commerce players
are putting out. This question arises from how they account for the discounts they offer ‐
substantial in many cases. Several companies are reportedly indulging in creative accounting of
marketing expenses, including discounts.
The net effect of this creative accounting is to postpone expenses to later years and inflate
profits in the current one. The issue was first flagged in the Indian media by Murthy, who, in a
column in Tehelka magazine, dated August 2, termed it "nonsense accounting practices at some
of these e‐commerce firms". It works like this. Say, the cost price of a book for an e‐commerce
firm is 100. It offers it for sale for 120, but also offers a 30 discount, be it in the form of cash or
a gift certificate. A customer buys the book at an effective price of 90. But XYZ does not record
90 as revenue and 10 as loss. It breaks it down into two entries. The first entry records 120 as
revenue and 20 (120‐ 100) as profit. The second entry records the 30 discount as an expense.
But this is not expensed the same year. Instead, it is capitalised and written off over many
years, thus inflating profits in the current year.
The annual reports of Flipkart and group entity WS Retail for 2009‐10 ‐ the latest available with
the corporate affairs ministry (MCA) and the year before its growth took off ‐ do not show such
write‐offs. "I am not aware of such a practice in Flipkart," says Sachin Bansal, the company's co‐
founder. When asked specifically if any current expense was being capitalised, he replied: "I will
not comment." Most e‐commerce players have taken off in the past 18 months, gaining traction
with the online consumer. Aided by cash from PE and VC firms, e‐commerce companies have
rolled out aggressive pricing and deals to drive revenues. Profits, though, are another matter. In
2009‐10, Flipkart reported a loss of 90 lakh on sales of 11.6 crore. Flipkart clocked revenues of
Rs 500 crore in FY 2011‐12, a ten‐time increase from Rs 50 crore in FY 2010‐11.
Private equity
Venture capital