Its official! Walmart buys Flipkart for $16 billion for a valuation of over $20 billion, making it the largest ecommerce acquisition to date. Walmart has acquired 77% of the Bengaluru-based company, as per sources. This is also the largest buyout for the US company with its biggest bet ever in online space and on India, underscoring the growing digital consumption potential in a country of 1.3 billion.
The deal, which will see founder Sachin Bansal exit completely, will now pit US-based giants Walmart and Amazon in the Indian market, which experts say will help in growing the share of online retail in the country.
“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.
McMillon added that the company is also excited to be doing this with Tencent, Tiger Global and Microsoft, which will be key strategic and technology partners. “We are confident this group will provide Flipkart with enhanced strategic and competitive advantage. Our investment will benefit India providing quality, affordable goods for customers, while creating new skilled jobs and fresh opportunities for small suppliers, farmers and women entrepreneurs.”
About Flipkart: It is India’s largest E-commerce business. It was formed in 2007, has over 100 million registered users and sells over 80,000 products.
Source: Economic Times
