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Flipkart acquires eBay India, raises USD1.4 Billion Funding from Tencent, Microsoft, eBay

Flipkart stuck two deals in one round, acquiring eBay India business operations and closing a USD1.4 billion fund raising from Tencent, eBay & Microsoft.

India: eBay began operations in India in 2005. Flipkart has acquired ‘eBay.in’, its Indian business segment and has agreed to make around USD500 million cash investment for an equity stake in Flipkart, a largest e-commerce player in India. In addition, post-acquisition, ‘eBay.in’ will perform as a separate entity from Flipkart which would help in enhancing its consumer base and inventory to expand sales across India.

With this deal, Flipkart’s post-transaction valuation is USD11.6 billion. Flipkart's existing investors include Tiger Global Management, Naspers Group, Accel Partners and DST Global. Post acquisition of ‘eBay.in’ the valuation of Flipkart increased to USD11.6 billion from USD15.5 billion in mid-2015 when it last raised funds from Tiger Global, Qatar Investment Authority along with the existing investors. In 2016, Flipkart has also seen several senior management changes and a string of layoffs.

Flipkart came in the market previously to raise around USD1 billion but faced a tough fundraising environment and competition from rival ‘Amazon’, which has committed to invest around USD5 billion in its India’s operations.

According to TechSci Research, past few years, online marketplaces like Flipkart and Amazon have increased their focus on large brands and a few strong sellers to improve their customer base & experience. Since inception, Flipkart has grown organically as well as through acquisitions of fashion e-commerce players like Myntra & Jabong, and UPI-based payment services app PhonePe. Currently, Flipkart is also in-talk with ‘Snapdeal’ for a possible acquisition. The country’s e-commerce market is forecast to witness staggering growth on the back of increasing working population and growing number of middle class households, which is expected to reach around 53 million by the end of 2015, and is further anticipated to double by 2025.

According to a recent report published by TechSci Research, “India E-commerce Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020”, the country’s e-commerce market is projected to grow at a CAGR of more than 36% during 2015-2020. E-services segment, which comprises online travel, online payments, online classifieds, etc., is expected to continue its domination through 2020. However, the e-tail segment that includes electronics, apparels & accessories, health and personal care, etc., is expected to witness significantly higher market growth compared to e-services segment over the next five years. During 2015-20, the western region is expected to remain the largest e-commerce market in the country. Major players operating in India’s e-tail market include Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon.

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