SoftBank, already a 33% shareholder, has reportedly acquired the stakes of three other Snapdeal board members, and Flipkart has signed a term sheet to buy it for a price that could be under $1bn.

India-based e-commerce firm Flipkart has signed a non-binding term sheet to acquire rival Snapdeal in a transaction that will involve many of the latter’s investors making a loss, the Economic Times reported yesterday.

Founded in 2010, Snapdeal owns and operates a diversified e-commerce marketplace that spans some 60 million products, but it has faced long-standing difficulties in generating a profit, largely due to fierce competition from Flipkart and US-based Amazon.

Snapdeal has raised about $1.7bn in funding from investors including…