Flipkart has closed the acquisition of another India-based e-commerce company, Myntra, and has followed that by raising a further $210m in a round led by DST Global, the investment firm partially financed by internet company Mail.ru.
The price paid by Flipkart for Myntra has not yet been confirmed. Initial speculation suggested Flipkart would pay $330m, but a source told Reuters that the price is closer to $300m, while Indian daily Economic Times has estimated it to be as high as $370m.
Myntra had raised a reported $125m from investors including IDG Ventures India, a corporate venturing subsidiary of IT media provider IDG, Tiger Global Management, Accel India Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Sofina and PremjiInvest.
Flipkart has followed the completion of the Myntra deal by raising $210m from DST and existing investors Tiger Global, Iconiq Capital and internet company Naspers, and it intends to use the funds for growth purposes. It has now raised about $750m in total.
DST itself is investing $200m in Flipkart, two people with direct knowledge of the deal told Economic Times, adding that the round could rise as high as $500m.
“This is going to be a mega round,” a source claimed. “Apart from DST, others like General Atlantic and Fidelity are also talking to Flipkart.”
Flipkart plans to commit more money to the fashion business, investing up to $100m in additional deals, Flipkart CEO Sachin Bansal told NDTV, adding that the company has “big plans” in the sector. That investment is reportedly set to take place over the next 12 to 18 months.
Reports suggested Flipkart bought Myntra in order to strengthen it against the threat represented by Amazon, which is shortly set to make a significant expansion into the Indian market.