US-based Walmart Inc. has bought 77 per cent shares in India’s biggest e-commerce company, Flipkart at US $ 16 billion, as per the regulatory approval in India.
The rest of the shares will be held by the Indian company’s existing shareholders including Co-founder Binny Bansal.
“Our investment 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.” – Doug McMillon, CEO Walmart. pic.twitter.com/8izGoP3nYX
— Walmart Newsroom (@WalmartNewsroom) May 9, 2018
Walmart’s path to acquiring shares in the Indian e-commerce giant, Flipkart, witnessed some obstacles; as, to kill the tax liability, Softbank (that funds Flipkart) decided to keep its shares for another 1 year which seems to have sorted and so as the CAIT’s accusation of malpractice.
In a statement released, Doug McMillon, CEO Walmart, highlighted how their partnership with Flipkart, who are leading the charge of e-commerce change in the country, is a stepping-stone on their path to the Indian market. “India’s size and growth rate makes it one of the most striking retail market in the world,” he said.
Flipkart’s Co-founder, Binny Bansal elucidated the importance of this deal in the Indian market. “This investment is of huge status for India and will help trigger our goal to strengthen the connections among buyers and sellers in the country,” he said.
Binny maintained that e-commerce is comparatively a smaller piece in the Indian retail chain but it surely has the potential to go a long way and now with Walmart on-board, there are exciting times ahead for Bengaluru-based company’s journey in the e-retail sector in India.
Markedly, Amazon India that has been making attempts to buy shares in Flipkart managed to grab some attention as it infused a fresh capital of Rs. 2,600 crores amidst the record-breaking deal between Walmart and Flipkart.
