Flipkart, Walmart’s Indian e-commerce subsidiary, has boosted its IPO valuation aim by approximately a third to $60-70 billion, and now plans to list in the United States in 2023 rather than this year, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the plan.
According to Reuters, Flipkart, which competes with Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) in India’s expanding e-commerce industry, has previously set an IPO valuation aim of $50 billion.
Flipkart’s internal intention to boost valuations further by focusing on two of its relatively new sectors — online healthcare services and travel bookings — is the key reason for delaying the IPO, according to two sources with direct knowledge.
The continued global market turbulence triggered by the Russia-Ukraine situation, according to two separate sources familiar with Flipkart’s plans, also forced the Indian company to reassess its schedule.
Flipkart bought Cleartrip, an Indian travel booking website, in 2021 and this week introduced the “Health+” app, which would sell drugs and other healthcare items and services.
The Flipkart IPO valuation objective might be as high as $70 billion
When asked about the timeframe for the IPO, Walmart CFO Brett Biggs said in December that Flipkart’s business was “doing virtually exactly how we planned” and that an “IPO is still very much in the cards,” without stating when the company would go public.
According to sources, the listing is now scheduled for early to mid-2023. Flipkart is based in Singapore and plans to list in the United States, according to the report.
The IPO preparations come amid mounting complaints from Indian brick-and-mortar merchants that Flipkart and Amazon are circumventing federal restrictions and favouring certain vendors, claims that both companies deny. India is also working on a series of e-commerce restrictions that could frighten international behemoths.
In 2018, Walmart paid $16 billion for a nearly 77 per cent share in Flipkart, its largest purchase ever, and suggested later that year that it could take the company public in four years.
Flipkart has raised $3.6 billion in a fundraising round, valuing the company at $37.6 billion. According to one of the individuals, the money-raising helped strengthen the company’s financial condition, and it had enough funds for expansion right now, so an IPO wasn’t necessary at this point.
After a boom in which eager retail investors and a pandemic-induced rush of free money pushed prices to record highs, prompting a slew of Indian digital businesses to go public, such as Paytm (PAYT.NS) and Zomato (ZOMT.NS), the IPO market in India has cooled.
In 2021, more than 60 firms made their market debut in India, raising a total of $13.7 billion, more than the previous three years combined.
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