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Flipkart, one of the largest online retailers in the country, has decided to acquire its rival Letsbuy.com.

At present, the details of the deal were not made public but the industry sources have stated that it will touch around Rs 100-125 crore. The deal throws light on Flipkart’s strategy of growing through acquisitions as e-commerce companies strive to become a one-stop shop for buyers and seek to boost their presence in a market that’s expected to grow more than 10-fold in the next few years.

The deal will help Flipkart, backed by Tiger Global Management LLC, expand faster and give Letsbuy access to Flipkart’s supply chain, the company said in the statement.

"The acquisition is a combination of cash and equity. The founders of Letsbuy along with their 350+ team will continue to function independently, with the added advantage of now being able to access Flipkart's superior technology platform and supply chain capabilities,"said the statement.

Commenting on the deal, Mr Sachin Bansal, Flipkart's co-founder and CEO said that, given that they managed to build a leadership position in consumer electronics as well since its launch in early 2011, it made sense for them to consolidate when they saw this opportunity.

Earlier, Flipkart had acquired Mime360, a Mumbai-based digital content platform, in October last year and weRead.com, a US-based on-demand publishing firm in December 2010.

Letsbuy.com, which gets 5 million monthly visits, was started in 2009 by eTree Marketing Pvt. Ltd and sells items such as mobile phones, cameras, laptops and home appliances.