Bengaluru May 9 (IANS) The world s largest retailer Walmart Inc on Wednesday announced it was buying 77 per cent equity stake in India s e-tail major Flipkart for $16 billion.
"Subject to regulatory approval in India Walmart will pay $16 billion (Rs 104 000 crore) for an initial stake of 77 per cent in Flipkart " the Arkansas-based firm said in a statement from the US.
The acquisition of the majority stake makes Walmart the largest shareholder of the city-based Flipkart group and its investment will help accelerate its customer-focused mission to transform e-commerce in India through technology.
"The investment underscores our commitment to sustained job creation and investment in India one of the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world " it said.
The remainder of the business will be held by some of Flipkart s existing shareholders including co-founder Binny Bansal Tencent Holdings Ltd Tiger Global Management LLC and Microsoft Corp.
"Though the focus will be on serving customers and growing the business Walmart supports Flipkart s ambition to transition into a publicly-listed majority-owned subsidiary in the future " the statement said.
The mega deal will give Walmart an opportunity to partner with the local leader in a large fast-growing market as the e-tailer leadership team will be supported by the other investment partners.
"The deal also underscores Walmart s long-term commitment to India where it looks to serve customers support job creation small businesses farmers and women entrepreneurs."
--IANS
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