Updated at August 1, 2017:
Flipkart has completed the merger with eBay India, which will now be a Flipkart Group company.
“Effective immediately, Flipkart will own and operate eBay.in, which will remain an independent entity as part of Flipkart,” Flipkart said in a statement. “As a result, Flipkart customers will get expanded product choices with the wide array of global inventory available on eBay while eBay customers will have access to a unique Indian inventory from Flipkart sellers” the statement added.
Our original story from Tuesday, August 1, 2017, follows:
It has happened, India’s top e-commerce store Flipkart has acquired the India business unit of eBay or eBay India. In addition, the Indian leading online marketplace has raised a total of $1.4 billion from Tencent, eBay and Microsoft. The latest funding round, at a post-transaction valuation of $11.6 billion is one of the biggest investment in Flipkart’s 10-year history. This also raises the total value of Flipkart to $10.2 billion (pre-money).
“We are delighted that Tencent, eBay and Microsoft — all innovation powerhouses — have chosen to partner with us on their India journey,” commented Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, Founders of Flipkart. “We have chosen these partners based on their long histories of pioneering industries, and the unique expertise and insights each of them bring to Flipkart. This deal reaffirms our resolve to hasten the transformation of commerce in India through technology,” he added.
Back to the eBay India acquisition, the deal is for an equity stake in Flipkart. The company will also be making a cash investment in Flipkart. However, eBay India will continue to operate as an independent entity like Flipkart’s recent acquisition of Jabong and Myntra.
In addition, to bring more value-added services to customers and merchants, Flipkart and eBay have signed an exclusive cross-border trade agreement. Under this agreement as a customer of Flipkart, you can purchase products from a global inventory of eBay. Whereas, if you are a merchant or seller at Flipkart your products can now be sold globally through various eBay channels.
Flipkart Investment and acquisition
- Flipkart raises $1.4 billion funds from Tencent, eBay and Microsoft.
- Tencent joins as a strategic investor, bringing experience in linking social networking and e-commerce.
- Flipkart’s current investors include Tiger Global Management, Naspers Group, Accel Partners and DST Global.
- Flipkart acquires eBay India. eBay will be getting an equity stake in Flipkart.
- eBay India will operate as an independent entity as a part of Flipkart.
If you remember back in 2010 Flipkart acquired Letsbuy, which was one of the biggest e-commerce acquisition of that time. In the ten-year period, Flipkart has acquired around eleven companies and launched numerous new service including the UPI-based app PhonePe. This extra cash and expertise from global technology giants will help Flipkart to take on Amazon India.