The startup world already had more drama, intrigue and twists than a typical Bollywood potboiler, and now it seems to have some music too.
“Rumour rumour on the wall, which troll did you call
You said sold, they said bought, but whoever listened to you didn’t get diddly squat.”
– Kunal Bahl, Snapdeal CEO, circa 2016
Snapdeal CEO Kunal Bahl has taken to poetry to squash rumours that his company was being taken over by Alibaba for a mere $2 billion. Alibaba is one of the major investors in Snapdeal, and a $2 billion sale would’ve meant a distress sale for the e-commerce giant, which was last valued at $6 billion.
Rumour rumour on the wall, which troll did you call
You said sold, they said bought, but whoever listened to you didn't get diddly squat.
— Kunal Bahl (@1kunalbahl) December 1, 2016
The rumour was started earlier in the day by infamous troll account Unicon Baba, which has gained both notoriety and grudging respect through his candid, and often unfiltered, observations of the Indian startup ecosystem.
Alibaba buying out Snapdeal in $2 Bn.
— Unicon Baba (@uni_con1) December 1, 2016
Unicon Baba had sent out this tweet early today morning, and what lent credence to this particular story was that Unicon Baba has proven to have had inside information on Snapdeal in the past. He’s shared screenshots of internal Snapdeal emails, and had also broken the story about irregularities at Snapdeal-owned GoJavas, which was later carried by major publications including the Economic Times.
His original tweet has received some attention, but Unicon Baba apparently had nothing to add, and has gone silent since his mystifying declaration.
Kunal Bahl, though, has responded in kind, albeit 9 hours later. The AA-BB rhyme scheme isn’t a traditional choice for CEOs hoping to quash unfavorable news, but it serves the purpose. Bahl has both acknowledged the rumour, and refuted it with appropriate jest.
Just shows the range of skills you need to be running a big company.