Softbank Vision Fund is negotiating with Flipkart to invest around $600-700 million three years after its exit from the Indian online retailer.
As per Economic Times, the funding is part of a larger $2 billion round which could see the participation of a group of sovereign wealth funds like Abu Dhabi’s ADQ, Canada’s CPPIB, as well as the company’s existing investors such as GIC and Qatar Investment Authority.The transaction is likely to value the Bengaluru-based firm at $25-30 billion, sources said.
The invesment could lead to Flipkart pushing back its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US. Flipkart will stay on as a private company for longer than what was being earlier talked about. The company has been preparing to go public by early next year, as reported earlier.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is expected to join the fundraise along with existing backers such as GIC of Singapore and Qatar Investment Authority.
If the deal materialises, it will be yet another big move by the Masayoshi Son-founded SoftBank in India’s e-commerce market. It had earlier tried to bring about a merger between its portfolio firm Snapdeal and rival FlipkartIn 2017. But, the deal was scuppered largely because of opposition from Snapdeal. The conglomerate went ahead to back Flipkart, only to sell its entire 21 percent share holding to Walmart a year later for about $4 billion.
