US retailer Walmart Inc on Wednesday acquired 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for about USD 16 billion in its biggest acquisition till date. The deal values the 11-year old Indian e-commerce firm at USD 20.8 billion.
“India is one of the most attractive retail markets in the world, given its size and growth rate, and our investment is an opportunity to partner with the company that is leading transformation of eCommerce in the market,” said Doug McMillon, Walmart’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Commenting on the deal, Binny Bansal, Flipkart’s co-founder and group CEO said, “This investment is of immense importance for India and will help fuel our ambition to deepen our connection with buyers and sellers and to create the next wave of retail in India.”
Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart will acquire about 77 per cent stake in Flipkart, Walmart said in a statement.
Sachin Bansal, who had co-founded Flipkart with Binny Bansal in 2007, would exit the company after the deal.
Sachin and Binny, who are not related and formerly worked for Amazon.com Inc, like their US rival began by selling books when they founded Flipkart.
India’s first billion-dollar e-commerce company, Flipkart, sells 8 million products across 80-plus categories. It has 100 million registered users. Walmart also plans to pump $2 billion (nearly Rs 13,000 crore) as fresh equity into Flipkart to strengthen its hold on the e-commerce firm.
PTI
