Flipkart board approves deal to sell 75% stake to Walmart

BANGALORE: The board of Flipkart Online Services Pvt has approved an agreement to sell about 75% of the company to a Walmart Inc-led group for approximately US$15bil, according to people familiar with the matter, an enormous bet by the American retailer on international expansion.

Under the proposed deal, SoftBank Group Corp will sell all of the 20% plus stake it holds in Flipkart through an investment fund at a valuation of roughly US$20bil, said the people, asking not to be named because the matter is private. Google-parent Alphabet Inc is likely to participate in the investment with Walmart, said one of the people. A final close is expected within 10 days, though terms could still change and a deal isn’t certain, they said.

That would seal a Walmart triumph over Amazon.com Inc, which has been trying to take control of Flipkart with a competing offer. Flipkart’s board ultimately decided a deal with Walmart is more likely to win regulatory approval because Amazon is the No. 2 e-commerce operator in India behind Flipkart and its primary competitor. Amazon is out of the running unless Walmart hits unforeseen trouble.

If completed, the deal will give Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart a leading position in the growing market of 1.3 billion people and a chance to rebuild its reputation online. The world’s largest retailer has struggled against Amazon as consumers increase their spending on the Internet. India is the next big potential prize after the U.S. and China, where foreign retailers have made little progress against Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

Amazon has already been aggressively expanding in the country on its own. Founder Jeff Bezos has committed US$5.5bil to the country and his local chief, Amit Agarwal, has made progress by adapting the site to local conditions.

Amazon has been gaining ground quickly on Flipkart and it tried to derail the Walmart transaction at least in part because it will fortify the Indian rival. Walmart can aid Flipkart with deep pockets and decades of retailing expertise in skills from logistics to marketing. The US retailer has been working to win over the Indian company since at least last year.

Last month, Walmart agreed to cede control of its UK grocery chain, Asda, as part of a global strategy to prioritise faster-growing markets over some more mature ones. Walmart is merging Asda with the British retailer J Sainsbury Plc and will retain a 42% stake in the combined company.

As part of the Walmart deal, Flipkart’s existing shareholders Tencent Holdings Ltd, South Africa’s Naspers Ltd and Microsoft Corp are expected to retain small stakes, the people said.

A US$20bil valuation for Flipkart would be substantially higher than the US$12bil mark it hit last year. It is already the most valuable startup in India. SoftBank stands to make a tidy profit on a stake it took only last year. The Japanese company, through its Vision Fund, invested US$2.5bil at the earlier valuation, people familiar said at the time. That stake could be worth more than US$4bil at the Walmart deal’s valuation.