Brands
YS TV
Discover
Events
Newsletter
More

Follow Us

twitterfacebookinstagramyoutube
Yourstory

Resources

Stories

General

In-Depth

Announcement

Reports

News

Funding

Startup Sectors

Women in tech

Sportstech

Agritech

E-Commerce

Education

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Art & Culture

Travel & Leisure

Curtain Raiser

Wine and Food

Videos

Open to IPO for Flipkart but no specific timeline: Walmart

Both Flipkart and payment app PhonePe continue to do well, Walmart International President and CEO Judith McKenna said at a conference.

Open to IPO for Flipkart but no specific timeline: Walmart

Thursday June 10, 2021 , 3 min Read

US retail giant Walmart has said it is "open to an IPO" for its Indian e-commerce arm Flipkart but there is "no specific timeline" for the share sale.


Both Flipkart and payment app PhonePe continue to do well, Walmart International President and CEO Judith McKenna said while speaking at the DB Access Global Consumer Conference on June 7.

"We always made it clear from the day we made the acquisition or the investment, that we would be open to an IPO," said McKenna.

However, she noted that there is no specific timeline for the IPO.


"But if we build a strong business, and we continue to do the things that we need to do to ensure that long-term and sustainable growth, that is a possible route that we would consider in the future, but certainly no specific timeline on that (IPO)," she said.

Flipkart

Walmart Inc owns a majority stake in Flipkart. It had invested $16 billion in 2018 in the Bengaluru-based ecommerce platform to pick up 77 percent stake. In July last year, it led a $ 1.2-billion round in Flipkart, valuing the ecommerce firm at $ 24.9 billion.


According to sources, SoftBank Group is in discussions with Flipkart to pump in about $ 500-600 million into the Walmart-owned e-tailer.

The transaction, which may also see participation from Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and Canadian pension fund CPPIB, could value Flipkart at $ 30-32 billion, they added.

Flipkart is also said to be working on launching its initial public offering (IPO) next year.


McKenna further said both Flipkart and PhonePe businesses are doing well.


"I am really pleased with what they have done since we acquired them. We have said that clearly a number of times," she added.

Growth of ecommerce

Ecommerce has seen strong growth in India amid the pandemic as containment measures introduced millions to the convenience of online shopping, and prompted seasoned online shoppers to buy more.

Social distancing compulsions, massive smartphone base, and reliable broadband have galvanised ecommerce uptake beyond metros, deep into smaller cities and towns.

Ecommerce companies are ramping up capacities and hiring to cater to the growth in order volumes.


McKenna also noted that after COVID, there is an increase in digital penetration overall in India.


Talking about PhonePe, McKenna said the payment platform has just crossed the 300 million users mark in a five-year period.


"So they (PhonePe) are going into new financial services areas, be that gold... insurance, mutual funds and different areas, which are all strengthening to the P&L... So confident and happy with the progress the businesses are making," she said.


Edited by Teja Lele