Walmart pays $1.4bn to buy Tiger Global’s remaining stake in Flipkart

The deal underscores the company bet on Indian e-commerce giant valued at $35 billion

Flipkart office in Bengaluru, India. Walmart first paid $16 billion in 2018 for a 77 per cent stake in the company. Reuters

Walmart has paid $1.4 billion to buy Tiger Global Management’s remaining stake in Flipkart, boosting its bet on the Indian retailer and helping the money manager provide distributions to investors at a time when accessing liquidity is tough.

The transaction, which took place in recent days, valued the Indian e-commerce giant at $35 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing a letter sent by Tiger Global to investors.

That is down from the nearly $38 billion valuation Flipkart commanded during its 2021 funding round. A spokeswoman for the investment company declined to comment on the deal, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Separately, venture capital company Accel also sold its 1 per cent stake in Flipkart to Walmart, The Economic Times reported.

The sale allows Tiger Global to successfully exit its long-time investment in the Indian start-up. The company had initially put $8.6 million into Flipkart’s Series B round in 2009 at a valuation of $42 million, before subsequently adding $1.2 billion between 2010 and 2015, according to the money manager.

The investments were made via Tiger Global's venture Private Investment Partners funds five through nine, its hedge fund and its long-only vehicle.

In 2017, Tiger Global sold part of its Flipkart stake to SoftBank Group, and a year later sold more to Walmart. In total, its investment in Flipkart has helped generate $3.5 billion in gains, the money manager said in the letter, adding that it will provide distribution details in the coming weeks.

Walmart, which first paid $16 billion in 2018 for a 77 per cent stake in Flipkart, has been accelerating its push into India’s growing consumer market. Earlier this year, its local payments business launched an online retailing app that will host local stores and smaller merchants.

The acquisition of the stakes from Tiger Global and Accel means Walmart will hold about 77 per cent of Flipkart, up from its previous 72 per cent, according to The Economic Times.

“We are grateful for our partnership with the Flipkart team and for the opportunity to invest in the company through early chapters in its growth,” Tiger Global said in the letter.