Flipkart, the massive India-based e-commerce site owned by Walmart (NYSE: WMT), is reportedly in talks to raise $3 billion as it prepares for a possible initial public offering.
According to Bloomberg, the company is looking to raise the funds from SoftBank Group, which had previously invested in the company before selling its stake to Walmart in 2018, as well as Singapore’s GIC Pte, Canada Pension Plan Investment Boar and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
The funding would value India’s version of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) at nearly $40 billion. Bloomberg said Softbank may contribute as much as $500 million in the funding round.
Walmart acquired a 77% stake in Flipkart in 2018 for $16 billion. According to Crunchbase, Flipkart has raised $9 billion to date across 24 funding rounds.
Similar to Amazon, Flipkart got its start in books. The Bengaluru, India-based company, founded by Sachin and Binny Bansal, started in a two-bedroom apartment as an online bookstore in 2007. The company made 20 shipments that first year. Over the years, the numbers and types of items Flipkart offered grew, ultimately making it the largest e-commerce platform in India.
India’s e-commerce market is expected to grow to $111 billion by 2024, according to financial technology firm FIS.
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