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Walmart is taking some expensive steps to compete with online rival Amazon, and those include investments in existing online retail businesses.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is talking about becoming a minority owner of Flipkart, India’s biggest online retailer, according to Fortune. News of the possible deal comes shortly after Walmart announced it had purchased Jet.com, another e-commerce company.
“Walmart is looking to invest between $750 million and $1 billion in Flipkart, but the final value and size of the stake would depend on the outcome of talks about the Indian company’s overall valuation,” the Fortune article states. The company has been valued at about $11.5 billion, the article says.
If Walmart and the Indian e-commerce company were to partner, Walmart could potentially gain a stronger presence in India. Currently, Walmart operates 21 wholesale stores in the country, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The potential partnership between Walmart and Flipkart would help the e-commerce company compete with Amazon in India. For Walmart, investing in the e-commerce company follows a pattern of the company continuously working to compete with Amazon, The Wall Street Journal article explains.
Former Amazon employees launched Flipkart in 2007, and the e-commerce retailer sells a wide variety of products, the Fortune article says.
