On Friday, Flipkart (1), a Bengaluru-based e-commerce giant, received 560.45 million more from Walmart as part of its 1.2 billion USD round stated in July. The company reportedly distributed 39,57,960 equity shares at 141.6 USD per share to raise these funds.
The QIA or Qatar Investment Authority subsidiary, INQ Holdings, also accumulated 57,477 shares at 8.14 million USD. The fresh fundings from both investors came within a week of 62.8 million USD infusion of Tencent in Flipkart.
In 2020, the e-commerce giant has raised nearly 1.3 billion USD, including the latest funds. Before the current fundraises, in July, Walmart has poured 560 million in the firm. As per the estimates, Flipkart now has a valuation of 23.5 billion USD with the latest tranche from Walmart and QIA.
Post allotment, Walmart has increased its stake in the giant at 82.3%, and QIA has 1.45%. Notably, Tencent controls over a 5.21% stake in Flipkart. Apart from Walmart, Tiger Global and Tencent are the two investors that own stakes worth 1 billion USD in the giant.
Flipkart to Scale-up Its Operations Before the Festive Season
As per reports, the company is planning for IPO in 2021. Hence, the latest fundraise could be its last private funding. The company is likely to go for the US market with a valuation of approximately 40 to 45 billion USD.
The fresh infusions would help the company to scale up its operations before the festive season. Notably, October and November are the two best business months for e-commerce giants, Flipkart and Amazon. In the past several years, both platforms have recorded huge sales via their events during the festive months.
The company would also utilize its fresh tranche to increase its B2B arms via Flipkart Wholesale, apart from scaling up its operations. On Friday, Flipkart Wholesale announced its expansion to 12 new cities across India.
