Binny Bansal has sold his residual stake in Flipkart to Walmart, which had acquired the etailer in 2018 for $16 billion. This ends Bansal’s holding in the ecommerce platform, one of India’s most successful internet startups. Cofounder Sachin Bansal had completely divested his 5% holding in Flipkart to Walmart for about $1 billion at the time of the acquisition.
Walmart moved in five years ago. But his cofounder Binny Bansal had held on to his stake. Now, 16 years after starting the ecommerce company, Binny, too, has sold all his Flipkart shares to the US retail giant Walmart.
Bansal’s holding: Binny Bansal, who departed from Flipkart in November 2018, retained over 2% in the company after a funding round that raised $3.6 billion two years ago. During the 2021 transaction, Bansal partially sold his stake for approximately $200-250 million. shareholding in Flipkart is likely to rise to around 80%, strengthening its ownership of the Indian ecommerce firm, as cofounder Binny Bansal and other minority investors have sold more shares to the US-based retailer,
It was first reported about Tiger Global and Accel — early investors in Flipkart — exiting the web retailer by selling a cumulative 5% stake to Walmart. Tiger pocketed a $3.5 billion gain on its Flipkart investment, it was reported quoting a communication sent by the New York-based fund to its limited partners ( sponsors in funds) on June 28.
Along with Tiger and Accel, Binny Bansal, who cofounded Flipkart in 2007 along with Sachin Bansal (not related), has also completely sold his holding to Walmart, the filings showed. Franklin Templeton, Oryx group and Antara Capital have also fully sold their shares to Walmart, while Qatar Investment Authority has part-sold its holding to Walmart, the filings showed. Flipkart’s parent firm is domiciled in Singapore, where it made the recent filings.
Bansal, who left Flipkart in November 2018, still owned over 2% of the firm after the ecommerce major raised $3.6 billion in a funding round two years ago. Bansal had part-sold his stake for about $200-250 million, It was reported during the 2021 transaction. Sachin Bansal had divested his entire holding of 5% in Flipkart to Walmart in 2018 for about $1 billion at the time of the acquisition.
The changes in Flipkart’s shareholding come at a time when PhonePe has separated from the ecommerce major and begun operating independently, with Walmart as its majority shareholder. The fintech firm has raised about $850 million so far in an ongoing round from the likes of General Atlantic, Tiger Global and others.
Source: The Economic Times
