Flipkart to raise $1billion funds for expansion

Walmart-owned homegrown ecommerce firm Flipkart plans to raise $1billion to fund expansion plans, catalyze its valuation and complete with its rivals like Amazon and Reliance Jio Retail, the people added. The company is negotiating with sovereign wealth funds, technology-focussed financial groups, pension funds, long-term passive funds and private equity funds including CPPIB, CDPQ, GIC of Singapore and Carlyle, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are advisors in the fundraise.

The funding will increase Flipkart’s value to $28-30 billion. According to data intelligence platform Tracxn, Walmart invested $1.2 billion in Flipkart in July 2020 at a $24.56 billion valuation, to increase its shareholding to 77.8 per cent. Qatar Investment Authority and China’s Tencent also invested a combined $79.1 million into the company, marking the first major cash infusion since Walmart acquired around 77 per cent stake in it for around $16 billion in 2018 at a valuation of $21 billion.

Walmart aims to take Flipkart public in four years. The US retail giant had invested only around $2 billion in primary capital into Flipkart at the time of the acquisition, with the remainder being used to buy out shares of existing investors.