Walmart Inc-backed Flipkart is peering to expand its product span in India from US$2 billion to US$3 billion at a valuation of over US$40 billion to challenge opponents, Mint announced on Tuesday. Said this citing two people with direct information on the issue.

The report cited one of two people as announcing that the world’s largest retailer is keen to bring in strategic investors for the Indian corporation, but is also keen to sell to large pure-play investment companies. Walmart has yet to formally command investment bankers to strategic partners and vast global investors for the latest fundraising project, the report indicated. 

The Mint report pointed out that Flipkart is presently rated at over US$40 billion and may dilute around 7 percent to lift it to US$3 billion. In a recent year, Flipkart raised US$3.6 billion in a funding round, which also gave it a valuation of US$37.6 billion.

Flipkart – 1- Flipkart Private Limited is an Indian e-commerce company, headquartered in Bengaluru, and incorporated in Singapore as a private limited company. The company originally focused on online book deals before expanding into other product classifications such as consumer electronics, fashion, home necessities, groceries, and lifestyle products. 2- In August 2018, American retail chain Walmart acquired a 77% operating share in Flipkart for US$16 billion, valued at around US$20 billion. Flipkart is estimated at $37.6 billion as of 2022. It is aiming to go public through a listing in the United States of America in 2023.

A Walmart spokesperson said we do not remark on assumptions, while Flipkart did not respond to a Reuters request for a remark. Walmart obtained a nearly 77 percent stake in Flipkart in 2018 for about US$16 billion – its hugest agreement ever – and announced later that year it could take the corporation public in as little as four years.

In April, Reuters reported that Indian e-commerce corporation Flipkart had internally lifted its IPO valuation target by nearly a third from US$60 billion to US$70 billion and was designing a US listing in 2023 rather than this year. 

Featured image credits