Tiger Global, Accel Mulling $1.5 Billion Stake Sale in Flipkart to Walmart: Report

Private equity firms Accel and Tiger Global, two early backers of Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart, are in talks to sell their remaining stake in the company to parent Walmart for about $1.5 billion (roughly Rs. 12,235 crore), the Economic Times reported on Thursday.

The stake, which collectively amounts to about 5 percent, would raise Walmart's ownership in the e-commerce giant, the newspaper reported citing people familiar with the matter.

"They (Accel and Tiger) want to sell and exit now fully. The discussions are moving ahead and the transaction will close in due time," a person familiar with the matter told ET.

Accel owns a little over 1 percent of Flipkart, while Tiger Global holds about 4 percent of the company, the report said.

Flipkart, Walmart, and Tiger Global did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Accel could not be immediately reached for a comment.

Walmart acquired a majority stake in Flipkart for about $16 billion (roughly Rs. 1,30,000 crore) in 2018 - its biggest deal ever - and later that year said it could take the company public in four years.

In April last year, Reuters reported that Flipkart had internally raised its IPO valuation target by around a third to $60 billion (roughly Rs. 4,90,000 crore) - $70 billion (roughly Rs. 5,70,00 crore), and plans a US listing in 2023.

Earlier this month, Walmart confirmed that it had already paid the Indian government most of the nearly $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,300 crore) in tax owed after digital payments company PhonePe, which the US retailer owns through Flipkart, shifted its headquarters from Singapore to India.

Walmart bought a controlling stake in Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart in 2018, giving it ownership of PhonePe. The company said last month it had completed the separation of PhonePe from Flipkart, adding that it would remain a majority stakeholder in both companies.

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