India-based e-commerce company Flipkart is to sell an undisclosed stake to media company Bennett, Coleman and Co (BCCL) in a Rs5bn ($74m) deal, Livemint reported on Saturday citing unnamed sources.
Flipkart is believed to be issuing shares to BCCL in return for a combination of cash and advertising across its portfolio of brands, including newspapers Times of India and Economic Times, as well as online channels ET Now and Times Now.
The deal is being handled by BCCL’s subsidiary Brand Capital and is expected to translate into a 0.5% stake based on Flipkart’s estimated valuation of $15bn.
Established in 2007, Flipkart operates an online marketplace with some 30 million products across more than 70 categories. The company claims to serve 46 million users.
Flipkart is currently seeking a $1bn round from investors including e-commerce group Alibaba and conglomerate Fosun.
The company has obtained approximately $3.1bn in total funding to date from backers including media company Naspers and IDG Ventures India, the local corporate venturing affiliate of technology research company International Data Group.
Remaining backers in the business include Tiger Global Management, Steadview Capital, Greenoaks Capital, Qatar Investment Authority, DST Global, GIC, Morgan Stanley, Sofina, Accel Partners, Vulcan Capital and Iconiq Capital.