Amazon planning to buy Flipkart to prevent rival Walmart bid
What's the story
According to reports, Amazon might make an offer to buy India's largest e-commerce platform Flipkart.
This comes as a rival offer as Flipkart enters advanced stages of selling its majority stake to the world's largest retailer Walmart.
Even though the Flipkart-Walmart deal is most likely to close, Amazon is holding early exploratory talks to buy Flipkart in a bid to stay in the game.
Walmart
Deal with Walmart could place Flipkart's valuation at $21 billion
If the Flipkart-Walmart deal comes through, Walmart will reportedly buy 55% of Flipkart's stakes in a combination of primary and secondary share purchases.
This will lead to Flipkart investors Tiger Global, Accel Partners, Naspers, and IDG Ventures to part ways with a majority of their Flipkart shares.
The deal could place Flipkart's market value at $21 billion.
Amazon
Amazon India has invested over $2 billion in the country
Even though Amazon's India arm has invested over $2 billion in the country since its launch in June 2013, it still lags behind Flipkart in the domestic e-commerce market, which is currently valued at $18 billion.
Amazon India will reportedly invest $3 billion more in the country.
Notably, even Google had earlier offered to invest in Flipkart at a valuation of $15 billion.
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