Flipkart raises $3.6 bn ahead of IPO
After a funding round led by SoftBank and GIC, the firm is now valued at $37.6 billion
BENGLAURU: The Flipkart Group, which is preparing for a public listing, on Monday said that it has raised $3.6 billion as a part of fresh funding led by financial investors GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and parent company Walmart Inc.
The round also saw participation from other sovereign funds including DisruptAD, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and marquee investors Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton, Tencent and Tiger Global.
Post this investment, the Flipkart Group is valued at $37.6 billion.
The round comes exactly a year after the company received capital commitments of $1.2 billion in July 2020, from owner Walmart and existing investors, for its e-commerce business.
Earlier in June, Mint reported that SoftBank Group Corp. was in talks with Flipkart to invest up to $700 million in the internet retailer, three years after it sold its entire stake in the company to Walmart Inc.
“This investment by leading global investors reflects the promise of digital commerce in India and their belief in Flipkart’s capabilities to maximise this potential for all stakeholders. As we serve our consumers, we will focus on accelerating growth for millions of small and medium Indian 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,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, chief executive officer (CEO), Flipkart Group. With this development, Flipkart will continue to make deeper investments across people, technology, supply chain and infrastructure, it said in a statement.
“Flipkart is a great business 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. Kalyan and the team have put the Indian customer at the center of everything and they have continued to innovate in the categories and services Indian customers want most. The quality of the investor group and valuation announced today is further confirmation of global confidence in Flipkart,” said Judith McKenna, president and
CEO– Walmart International.
Flipkart will also leverage the investment to bring more informal small businesses to the digital fold. Through its expanding grocery and last-mile delivery programs, the Group will also work towards digitizing kiranas further, it said.
Flipkart currently also works with more than 1.6 million kiranas in India through its wholesale business and its last-mile delivery program
“SoftBank’s re-investment in Flipkart is driven by our experience with and conviction in the company’s management team to continue addressing the needs of the Indian consumer in the decades to come. The opportunity to meet consumer demand for high-quality selection at low prices and a young population make online consumption critical to India’s quest for the ‘$5 trillion economy’ that Flipkart’s growth story has been enabling,” said Lydia Jett, partner, SoftBank Investment Advisers.
At present, the Flipkart Group claims to engage with more than 350 million registered users from across the country.