Big Billion Day: Walmart infuses $600 million in Flipkart as part of $1 billion round

Flipkart, the e-commerce giant, is preparing to raise $1 billion in a fresh funding round, people in the know told Moneycontrol. Of the planned $1 billion fundraise, Walmart has already committed $600 million, DealStreet Asia reported earlier on December 21, citing regulatory filings.

Other internal stakeholders and a few external investors will put in the remaining $400 million, they added.

Flipkart will use the money to expand its operations, strengthen its supply chain and bolster its tech capabilities. To be sure, this is not a pre-IPO round and another fundraise can be expected next year, sources said.

Flipkart confirmed to Moneycontrol that Walmart is investing $600 million, but did not comment on the remaining $400 million.

The ongoing round values Flipkart at a premium of around 5-10 percent from its previous valuation. Flipkart was last valued at around $33 billion, after accounting for PhonePe's separation. The Economic Times first reported the development.

The talks of a fresh fundraise comes months after Moneycontrol had reported that early investors Accel (US and India), Tiger Global, Franklin Templeton had all sold Flipkart shares to Walmart. In 2018, Walmart had paid $16 billion for a 77 percent stake in Flipkart and its holding has now increased to 80.5 percent, per Tracxn data.

The same transaction marked the end of an era as Binny Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart, also sold his remaining stake. In all, Binny Bansal had netted around $1-$1.5 billion by selling his shares in Flipkart.