Flipkart raises $3.6 billion; valuation hits $37.6 bn

Flipkart Group on Monday said it has raised $3.6 billion (about Rs 26,805.6 crore) in funding led by GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Walmart, valuing the e-commerce giant at $37.6 billion.

The company, which competes with Amazon, Reliance Industries' JioMart and others in the burgeoning Indian e-commerce market, said it will continue to make deeper investments across people, technology, supply chain and infrastructure to address the requirements of a rapidly growing consumer base in the country.

The current funding round has also seen participation from sovereign funds DisruptAD, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Berhad as well as marquee investors Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton and Tiger Global.

The investment values the Group at $37.6 billion (about Rs 2.79 lakh crore) post-money, Flipkart said in a statement.

“This investment by leading global investors reflects the promise of digital commerce in India and their belief in Flipkart's capabilities to maximise this potential for all stakeholders.

"As we serve our consumers, we will focus on accelerating growth for millions of small and medium Indian businesses, including kiranas," Flipkart group chief executive officer Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.

Flipkart will continue to invest in new categories and leverage made-in-India technology to transform consumer experiences and develop a world-class supply chain, he added.

In July last year, Flipkart had announced a $1.2 billion (roughly Rs 9,048 crore) fundraising led by its majority shareholder Walmart that had valued the Bengaluru-based company at $24.9 billion (roughly Rs 1.87 lakh crore).

In 2018, Walmart Inc had invested $16 billion for acquiring a 77 per cent stake in the group.

Founded in 2007, the Flipkart Group includes Flipkart, fashion speciality site Myntra and Ekart (logistics and supply chain arm).

The group is also a majority shareholder in the digital payments platform PhonePe.

Photograph: Abhishek N Chinnappa/Reuters