Walmart to enter Indian market
Walmart Inc (WMT.N) is in talks to buy a stake of more than 40 percent in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart, a direct challenge to Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) in Asia’s third-largest economy.
Terms under discussion were not immediately available, but Flipkart would be valued at more than the $12 billion figure given when Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp’s (9984.T) Vision Fund took roughly a fifth of the firm last year for $2.5 billion, they added.
A deal with Walmart would give Flipkart much-needed muscle in its fight against Amazon, which has committed to investing $5 billion in India as it expands aggressively, including into online grocery deliveries, which analysts tip as the next big battleground for the country’s e-commerce sector.
Besides its own e-commerce site, Flipkart owns fashion portals Myntra and Jabong, and controls nearly 40 percent of India’s online retail, ahead of Amazon, according to estimates by research firm Forrester. It is also looking into expanding into grocery deliveries.
Walmart shares rose 0.31% to $ 103.55.
/Source: Reuters/
Feb. 16, 2018