Flipkart raises $560 mn from Walmart: Report

Flipkart on Friday reportedly received $560.45 million from its Bentonville, Arkansas headquartered parent Walmart as part of an $1.2 billion funding round announced in July.

The Bengaluru-based startup allotted 39,57,960 equity shares at $141.6 per share in exchange for the amount, as per an Entrackr report, citing regulatory filings in Singapore. Flipkart is incorporated in the city-state.

Qatar Investment Authority or QIA’s subsidiary INQ Holdings also picked up 57,477 shares for $8.14 million, the report added.

Flipkart did not respond to TechCircle’s request for confirmation on the transaction.

The development comes about two weeks after Chinese technology giant Tencent reportedly infused $62.8 million into Flipkart as part of the ongoing $1.2 billion funding round.

Retail giant Walmart currently holds about 82% of Flipkart, after having acquired a 77% stake in Flipkart for $16 billion, two years ago. The deal, in May 2018, valued Flipkart at $20.8 billion.

According to Entrackr, Flipkart is currently valued at about $23.5 billion. 

Separately, Flipkart is planning a public offering overseas as early as 2021, which could value the firm up to $50 billion, as per a Reuters report.

Read: Covid-19 pandemic whets startup appetites for public market outings

Additionally, the etailer, alongside rival Amazon India, is set to announce multiple sales across its platform, leading up to the Diwali and Dussehra sales that host a major chunk of India’s shopping interests in a calendar year.

On Monday, Flipkart Wholesale announced its first ever festive season sale for fashion retailers, scheduled from September 29 to October 31. Ahead of the festive sale, it expanded to 15 new cities, as per the statement.

Days after the $1.2 billion investment announced by Walmart in July, Flipkart acquired Walmart India, and launched a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace called Flipkart Wholesale to benefit from wholesale capabilities of Walmart India that included cash-and-carry unit Best Price.