New Delhi, May 14 (PTI): A Rs 193-crore bonanza awaits Snapdeal staff if the homegrown e-commerce company is taken over by larger rival Flipkart.

According to sources, if the deal goes through, the founders will give half of their payout ($30 million) for the proposed scheme, which would cover all the current employees of Snapdeal. Snapdeal has about 1,500-2,000 staffers.

"The founders have asked the board to carve out $30 million (about Rs 193 crore) from their settlement for payouts to the Snapdeal team. They want to ensure that the team does not get sidelined in any manner," they added. Some former senior executives of Snapdeal, who have left the company in the last 12 months, could also benefit from the process.

E-mails sent to Snapdeal did not elicit any response.

The intent is also to compensate for the Esops that were issued to the senior employees. The value of their shares and options has eroded and would be worthless once the deal is signed, one of the employees said. The deal-linked payment would also be extended to employees who do not own Esops to reward those staying on with Snapdeal till the proposed transaction with Flipkart is complete.

If the deal goes through, Snapdeal founders will get $60 million (cumulative), of which half will be given to the employees. Japanese conglomerate and Snapdeal's largest investor SoftBank has initiated the process to sell the beleaguered online marketplace to bigger rival Flipkart.

It has managed to get board members, which also include the founders (Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal) and early investors Kalaari and Nexus Venture Partners, to agree to the potential deal. Nexus Venture Partners could get close to $80 million and a stake in the merged/new entity, while Kalaari could get about $70-80 million.

According to regulatory filings, SoftBank currently owns over 30 per cent in Snapdeal, while Nexus has roughly a 10 per cent stake and Kalaari holds an 8 per cent share in the firm. A non-binding term sheet to start the due diligence by Flipkart for Snapdeal is expected to be signed soon between the two parties.

Key resignation

Vani Kola, the representative of Kalaari Capital on the Snapdeal board, has resigned ahead of the potential sale of the e-commerce company to 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 a regulatory filing with the ministry of corporate affairs.

Without citing any specific reasons, Kola said she was unable to continue to be part of the Snapdeal board and requested to be discharged of her duties with "immediate effect".