Open to IPO for Flipkart but no specific timeline: Walmart

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ US retail giant Walmart has said it is “open to an IPO” for its Indian e-commerce arm Flipkart but there is “no specific timeline” for the share sale. Both Flipkart and payment app PhonePe continue to do well, Walmart International president and CEO Judith McKenna said while speaking at the DB Access Global Consumer Conference on June 7.

“We always made it clear from the day we made the acquisition or the investment, that we would be open to an IPO,” said McKenna. However, she noted that there is no specific timeline for the IPO. “But if we build a strong business, and we continue to do the things that we need to do to ensure that long-term and sustainable growth, that is a possible route that we would consider in the future, but certainly no specific timeline on that (IPO),” she said.

Walmart Inc owns a majority stake in Flipkart. It had invested $16 billion in 2018 in the Bengaluru-based e-commerce platform to pick up 77 per cent stake. In July last year, it led a $1.2-billion round in Flipkart, valuing the e-commerce firm at $24.9 billion. According to sources, SoftBank Group is in discussions with Flipkart to pump in about $500-600 million into the Walmart-owned e-tailer.