Walmart Inc., the majority investor in Flipkart, said that an initial public offering of the Bengaluru-based e-commerce giant remains its "long-term ambition" after it bought out Tiger Global's stake.
Walmart Inc. paid $1.4 billion to buy Tiger Global Management's remaining stake in Flipkart, according to Bloomberg News. The deal happened at a valuation of around $35 billion for Flipkart, marginally lower than its $38 billion valuation in 2021.
"We value Tiger Global's involvement and support over the last several years. We remain confident in the future of Flipkart and are even more positive about the opportunity in India today than when we first invested," a spokesperson for Walmart told BQ Prime. "We continue to be impressed with Flipkart's progress and remain focused on building a healthy, sustainable, and profitable business for the long term, ensuring Flipkart continues to grow in an emerging and dynamic market."
The IPO remains "our long-term ambition, and it will come at the right time", the spokesperson said.
Walmart had entered Flipkart in 2018, paying about $16 billion for a 77% stake and setting up a direct battle with Jeff Bezos' Amazon.com Inc. Since then, both American giants have grabbed large pieces of India's burgeoning digital economy but have failed to be profitable. The space has also seen competition from entrants such as Mukesh Ambani's JioMart and Sequoia-backed Meesho.
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