Walmart-Flipkart deal: Traders threaten to move SC
Despite strong protests and appeals by small traders against Walmart’s proposed $16 billion buyout of Flipkart, the government is yet to intervene on the matter.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) told Mint that it will escalate the matter to the Supreme Court if Competition Commission of India (CCI) rules in favour of the deal and if the government doesn’t block the deal. On Monday, thousands of shopkeepers and traders affiliated with the CAIT organized protests across the country, arguing that the deal would drive small and medium-sized offline retailers and traders out of business.
Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of CAIT, said that the traders’ body had sought an appointment with the Ministry of Commerce to discuss the matter and push for the deal to be blocked.
“We have been expecting the government to reject this deal, but so far we haven’t heard from them….We will fight this deal tooth and nail and if necessary, take this matter to the Supreme Court,” Khandelwal told Mint.
In May, CAIT, which is one of the largest traders’ bodies in the country, had filed a petition with antitrust regulator CCI, objecting to the Walmart-Flipkart deal on grounds that the buyout creates an uneven playing field for sellers.
Prior to CAIT’s petition, Walmart had written to the CCI, seeking the approval of the antitrust regulator for the $16 billion deal, saying that its proposed buyout of Flipkart did not create any competition concerns and that the pecking order of the broader retail market in India remained unaffected by the deal.
Despite protests by CAIT, most analysts and experts expect the deal is likely to go through and that the protests led by CAIT posed. Walmart’s proposed buyout of Flipkart does not create an entity that has a monopoly-like position in either the offline or online retail business in India.
Walmart said it remained confident that the deal would go through and that the combination of Walmart and Flipkart would actually create more jobs and provide benefits to small suppliers and farmers.
“We believe the combined capabilities of Flipkart and Walmart will create India’s leading e-commerce platform. This will benefit India by providing quality, affordable goods for customers, while creating new skilled jobs and fresh opportunities for small suppliers, farmers, and women entrepreneurs,” said Walmart in a statement on Monday.
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