Walmart Invests $3.5 Billion to Increase Stake in Flipkart

• ByStartupStory     |    September 3, 2023

Walmart, the parent company, has made a significant investment of $3.5 billion to acquire shares from non-controlling stakeholders in Flipkart, as well as to settle certain liabilities with PhonePe shareholders. This move is part of Walmart’s strategic preparation of Flipkart for an initial public offering (IPO).

According to Walmart’s latest Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, this transaction took place during the six months ending on July 31, 2023. The company also noted that it received $0.7 billion from new rounds of equity funding for its majority-owned subsidiary, PhonePe, during the same period.

Earlier this year, Tiger Global, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, and Accel had all divested their stakes in Flipkart, aligning with Walmart’s efforts to prepare the e-commerce giant for an IPO.

Walmart’s investment strategy in Flipkart has been significant, with over $20 billion invested in both Flipkart and PhonePe. This move aims to secure a substantial share of India’s e-commerce and fintech markets. In a conference earlier this year, Walmart’s Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey expressed optimism about Flipkart and PhonePe potentially becoming $100 billion businesses, driven by robust growth.

This investment underscores Walmart’s commitment to the Indian market and its aspirations to compete with players like Amazon, Reliance’s JioMart, and Tata-owned BigBasket in the rapidly growing Indian e-commerce space, which is projected to reach $350 billion by 2030.

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