Walmart Readies for Flipkart IPO

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart is planning to sell around 25% in India’s largest online retailer,. Work on the IPO (initial public offering) is on in full swing and the advent of the pandemic has only hastened the process, given the spectacular surge in demand on e-commerce platforms. Walmart Inc. has hired Goldman Sachs to explore an initial share sale of its Flipkart unit in the US to raise around $10 billion. If Flipkart’s IPO plans are successful, it will be the largest by a company based in India on overseas exchanges. Flipkart’s valuation will also more than double to $40 billion since Walmart’s acquisition of the e-commerce giant. In September, Reuters had reported that Flipkart will go public in 2021. The US retailer had pledged to take Flipkart public in four years after it bought a 77% stake for $16 billion in 2018.  Walmart now owns an 82.3% stake in Flipkart, with US-based hedge fund Tiger Management, China’s Tencent, Accel Partners and Microsoft Corp., among the other key investors. The IPO will offer an opportunity to minority investors to sell or pare their holdings. The share sale proceeds are likely to be used to expand Flipkart’s business at a time the e-commerce market is booming.