Flipkart raises $1.4bn from Tencent, eBay and Microsoft – and buys eBay India

Flipkart raises $1.4bn from Tencent, eBay and Microsoft – and buys eBay India

Indian online retailer Flipkart has announced that it has received $1.4bn in investment from the three global tech giants Tencent, eBay and Microsoft – and that eBay India has become part of the Flipkart group. In a statement posted on Flipkart’s official blog yesterday (10 April), Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, Founders of Flipkart, said: “We are delighted that Tencent, eBay and Microsoft — all innovation powerhouses — have chosen to partner with us on their India journey. 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.”

The Flipkart statement added: “The investment by eBay is accompanied by a strategic commercial agreement with Flipkart. In exchange for an equity stake in Flipkart, eBay is making a cash investment in and selling its eBay.in business to Flipkart. eBay.in will continue to operate as an independent entity as a part of Flipkart.

“Flipkart and eBay have also signed an exclusive cross-border trade agreement, as a result of which customers of Flipkart will gain access to the wide array of global inventory on eBay, while eBay’s customers will have access to unique Indian inventory provided by Flipkart sellers. Thus, sellers on Flipkart will now have an opportunity to expand their sales globally.”

The investment and tie-up with eBay will presumably give Flipkart a fillip for its ongoing tussle with Amazon in the Indian e-commerce market. As previously reported, Flipkart is allegedly mulling over plans to buy the other member of India’s big three e-commerce players, Snapdeal – but there was no mention of this in yesterday’s official blog post.

eBay entered the Indian e-commerce market back in 2004, through the acquisition of Bazee, so it pre-dates the other key marketplaces. Flipkart launched in 2007, Snapdeal in 2010 and Amazon entered the fray in 2013.

 

 

 

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