Flipkart has announced an investment — a mix of primary and secondary capital — from SoftBank Vision Fund. This is the biggest ever private investment in an Indian technology company, and will make the Vision Fund one of the largest shareholders in Flipkart.
The investment is part of the previously announced financing round, where Flipkart had raised capital from — Tencent, eBay and Microsoft. After this financing round, Flipkart claims to have in excess of $4 billion of cash on its balance sheet.
While the amount invested remains undisclosed, it looks like SoftBank infused $2 billion in Flipkart in total. A few sources indicate Entrackr that about $1.5 billion was gone to Tiger Global as the US based hedge fund offloaded its share in the company
“This is a monumental deal for Flipkart and India. Very few economies globally attract such overwhelming interest from top-tier investors. It is recognition of India’s unparalleled potential to become a leader in technology and e-commerce on a massive scale. SoftBank’s proven track record of partnering with transformative technology leaders has earned it the reputation of being a visionary investor. We’re excited to welcome the Vision Fund as a long-term partner as we continue to build our business with a focus on serving the needs of all Indians, and driving the next phase of technology adoption in India,” said Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, Co-Founders of Flipkart.
Tiger Global is Flipkart’s largest shareholder and is said to be running the operations at e-commerce major. Former Tiger Global managing director Kalyan Krishnamurthy is the current CEO of the Bengaluru-based company.
“India is a land of vast opportunity. We want to support innovative companies that are clear winners in India because they are best positioned to leverage technology and help people lead better lives. As the pioneers in Indian e-commerce, Flipkart is doing that every day,” said Masayoshi Son, Founder and Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp.
Earlier this year, the Indian e-commerce major had acquired eBay and raised whopping $1.4 billion from eBay, Microsoft, and Tencent at a valuation of $11.6 billion. It seems like the round was open since then as the company announced that today’s investment from Softbank Vision Fund was part of the last round only.
Talks had been floating over months about Softbank is orchestrating merger of struggling Snapdeal with Flipkart. However, it didn’t happen as shareholders weren’t in agreement for the deal. Finally, Snapdeal chose to be an independent entity.
