Media conglomerate Naspers has revealed it provided $71m of funding for India-based e-commerce company Flipkart in April 2017, the Economic Times reported today, citing a financial report filed by Naspers.
Naspers, an existing Flipkart investor, now holds a 16% stake in the company, having purchased shares from undisclosed other existing shareholders.
The news follows reports in April that Flipkart had closed a $1.4bn funding round backed by investors including software developer Microsoft, online marketplace eBay and internet company Tencent.
Flipkart has created a diversified e-commerce platform that currently has a 57% to 58% share of the Indian marketplace in terms of gross merchandise value, according to its internal estimates.
The company was valued at $11.6bn as of the April 2017 round, a drop from its $15bn valuation it achieved in 2015. It has raised more than $4bn to date and Naspers first invested in 2012, paying $102m for a 10% stake and subsequently providing $140m in 2014 and $293m in 2014.
The company’s other shareholders include media business Bennett, Coleman & Co, IDG Ventures India, Steadview Capital, Baillie Gifford, Greenoaks Capital, Iconiq Capital and T. Rowe Price.