Flipkart Group announced that it has raised USD 3.6 billion (about Rs 26,805.6 crore) in the capital led by GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Walmart, valuing the e-commerce behemoth at USD 37.6 billion.
In the developing Indian e-commerce sector, the business, which competes with Amazon, Reliance Industries' JioMart, and others, said it will continue to make deeper investments in people, technology, supply chain, and infrastructure to meet the needs of the country's quickly rising consumer base.
Sovereign funds DisruptAD, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, as well as marquee investors Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton, and Tiger Global, have all participated in the current fundraising round.
The investment values the Group at USD 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 USD 1.2 billion (roughly Rs 9,048 crore) fundraising led by its majority shareholder Walmart that had valued the Bengaluru-based company at USD 24.9 billion (roughly Rs 1.87 lakh crore).
In 2018, Walmart Inc had invested USD 16 billion for acquiring a 77 percent stake in the group.
Founded in 2007, the Flipkart Group includes Flipkart, fashion specialty site Myntra, and Ekart (logistics and supply chain arm). The group is also a majority shareholder in the digital payments platform PhonePe.
With PTI inputs
