Walmart and Flipkart Group completed a stock purchase that will make Walmart the largest shareholder in the Flipkart Group.
“Walmart and Flipkart will achieve more together than each of us could accomplish separately to contribute to the economic growth of India, creating a strong local business powered by Walmart,” said Judith McKenna, president and CEO of Walmart International
“We are poised and ready to deliver the full value of this partnership for India,” said Binny Bansal, Flipkart’s co-founder and group chief executive officer. “By combining Walmart’s omni-channel retail expertise, supply-chain knowledge and financial strength with Flipkart’s talent, technology and local insights, we are confident that together we can drive the next wave of retail in India.”
The Flipkart investment will transform Walmart’s position in a country with more than 1.3 billion people, strong GDP growth, a growing middle class and significant runway for smartphone, internet and eCommerce penetration.
With the completion of the investment, Walmart now holds approximately 77% of Flipkart. The remainder of the business is held by other shareholders, including Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Tencent, Tiger Global and Microsoft. Moving forward, Flipkart’s financials will be reported as part of Walmart’s International business segment.
In May, several financial firms, including JPMorgan Chase and Barclays, agreed to provide $5 billion in financing in one of the largest revolving credit facilities of recent times. The facility amounted to about a third of the total acquisition cost and will have a tenure of 18 months. It was secured against the balance sheet of Flipkart and its shares, with a credit line priced about 300-400 basis points above LIBOR.
Walmart’s investment included $2 billion of new equity funding to help accelerate the growth of the Flipkart business. Both companies will retain their unique brands and operating structures in India.
The Flipkart Group is one of India’s largest e-commerce marketplace and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong and PhonePe.
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JPMorgan, Barclays Support Walmart $16M Investment in Flipkart
