Sources: Indian ecommerce major Flipkart seeks $1b raise ahead of its IPO

Details:

• The ecommerce giant began exploring funding opportunities with some of its investors earlier this year.
• While it was reported that the company plans to go public this year, internal discussion in recent months has pushed its IPO process to early next year.

Context:

• Flipkart raised US$1.2 billion in a round led by US retail giant Walmart in July last year at a valuation of around US$24.9 billion.
• Walmart has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to explore an initial share sale of Flipkart in the US to raise around US$10 billion. It plans to sell about 25% of its shares in the ecommerce company.
• In India, Flipkart has to compete with Amazon, which has invested more than US$6.5 billion in the country. The two are trying to conquer a market that is predicted to reach over 300 million shoppers by 2025, according to estimates by Bain & Company.