Flipkart Private Ltd, the Singapore-based holding company of India’s e-commerce marketplace Flipkart, based in Bangalore, closed a $1.4 billion funding round with backing from Chinese Internet giant Tencent, eBay, and Microsoft. Post funding, the valuation of India’s most highly valued startup is now $11.6 billion from a previous high of $15 billion. The investments will give Flipkart a possible entry into the peer-to-peer e-commerce market.
eBay will sell its Indian business to Flipkart in part exchange for an equity stake; however, it will continue to operate as an independent entity. Tencent, a leading provider of internet value-added services, will become a “strategic investor”, bringing experience in linking social networking, and e-commerce reports CNBC.
“This deal reaffirms our resolve to hasten the transformation of commerce in India through technology,” co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal said in a press release.
