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Flipkart said on Monday it raised $ 3.6 billion at a post-currency valuation of $ 37.6 billion in what is widely seen as the pre-IPO cycle for the Indian e-commerce conglomerate as it s ‘strives to register in public markets from the start. Next year.
The new round of funding – by far the largest for any Indian startup – was led by GIC, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Walmart, as well as investments from sovereign wealth funds DisruptAD, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton and Tiger Global.
Monday’s investment marks SoftBank’s return as a Flipkart shareholder. SoftBank, which left the startup when the Bangalore-based company sold controlling stakes to Walmart in 2018 for a valuation of $ 22 billion, has reinvested around $ 500 million in the new round.
“At Flipkart, we are committed to transforming the consumer internet ecosystem in India and providing consumers with access and value. This investment from leading global investors reflects the promise of digital commerce in India and their belief in the ability of Flipkart to maximize this potential for all stakeholders, ”said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart Group, in a statement.
“As we serve our consumers, we will focus on accelerating the growth of millions of Indian small and medium businesses, including Kiranas. We will continue to invest in new categories and leverage made in India technology to transform consumer experiences and develop a world-class supply chain. “
As part of the new fundraiser, Flipkart is also offering its employees the opportunity to sell their stock options worth $ 80.5 million, Krishnamurthy told them on Monday.
Flipkart initially hit the market to raise funds earlier this year and was initially looking to raise around $ 1 billion, TechCrunch first reported.
The Bangalore-based company competes neck and neck with Amazon in India. The American e-commerce group has invested more than $ 6.5 billion in the South Asian market.
Both companies are struggling to aggressively expand their footprint in India, where physical stores continue to generate the vast majority of retail sales. Both companies are also expected to be hit hard by India’s new e-commerce rules
JioMart e-commerce platform, a joint venture between Reliance Retail (India’s largest retail chain) and Jio Platforms, backed by Google and Facebook (India’s largest telecommunications operator), was launched last year in more than 200 towns and cities across the country.
At stake is one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the world, which is poised to grow even more as more and more internet users begin to shop online. India’s e-commerce market is expected to reach over 300 million buyers by 2025, according to Bain & Company estimates. These buyers would have bought items worth more than $ 100 billion on online platforms, the firm predicted.
In recent years, Flipkart and Amazon have made a number of bets to expand their reach in India. Both have rolled out support for the Hindi language (Flipkart has also added several additional Indian languages) and have partnered with neighborhood stores.
“Flipkart is a great company whose growth and potential mirrors that of India as a whole – that’s why we invested in 2018 and why we continue to invest today,” said Judith McKenna, President and CEO of Walmart International, in a statement.
Flipkart says it has amassed more than 350 million registered users through its services – including Myntra fashion e-commerce – nationwide. “Flipkart’s logistics and supply chain arm, Ekart, employs more than 100,000 people and delivers over 90% addressable PINs in India, which, together with strategic investments in the infrastructure of Flipkart, warehouse, is one of the group’s main assets. Venturing into the social commerce space, Flipkart recently announced the launch of Shopsy, which will encourage local entrepreneurship, ”the company said.
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