Walmart-owned Indian e-commerce major Flipkart has infused $358.2 million more into its marketplace business, Flipkart Marketplace, according to filings with Singapore’s Accounting Corporate and Regulatory Authority (ACRA).
Flipkart, which competes with Amazon.com in India’s booming e-commerce space, carried out the investment through Flipkart Private Ltd, the filings showed. Flipkart is incorporated in Singapore.
Flipkart Private Ltd had invested $608 million in the marketplace business in 2022. According to DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE, the latest investment brings the company’s total infusion in the unit to $1.76 billion.
ACRA filings only reflect the equity funding received so far in a round and the overall funding round could be larger and/or have other components such as debt.
Flipkart Marketplace is an online platform that allows third-party sellers to offer their products for sale to Flipkart’s customers. As a seller on the platform, businesses can create their own storefront, list their products, and manage their inventory, pricing, and promotions.
ACRA filings also showed that Flipkart Private Limited has made cash infusions into two other Singapore-registered units, Flipkart Health Private Limited and Flipkart Investments Private Limited.
The healthcare unit of the e-commerce company received $5,000 from the parent company, while the investments unit bagged $30,200, according to their ACRA filings.
Flipkart has already invested about $140.7 million in its healthcare unit and about $206 million in its investments unit, DATA VANTAGE shows.
The latest capital infusion comes as the Bengaluru-based Flipkart is scaling many of its new businesses ahead of a planned IPO that could take place this year.
Flipkart had reportedly raised its IPO valuation target by around a third to $60-70 billion. According to a Reuters report, the company now plans a US listing this year instead of last year.
In June last year, ACRA filings also showed that Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal sold a stake worth nearly $250 million in the company to Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. He also offloaded stake worth $76 million to US retail giant Walmart in 2019.
Bansal along with Sachin Bansal (not related) launched Flipkart in 2007, a little before the startup frenzy had begun to catch up in India. It has become one of the largest e-commerce companies in the country and has played a significant role in shaping India’s online retail industry.
Flipkart offers groceries in 1,800 cities and towns and aims to take its offering to 2,000 more towns this year. Fresh fruits and vegetables will be an integral part of the expansion, according to an earlier announcement.