Telecoms and internet conglomerate SoftBank has offered to acquire shares from existing investors and staff of India-based e-commerce company Flipkart, Mint reported today citing people familiar with the matter.
The secondary transaction, managed by Goldman Sachs, would value Flipkart at $9bn to $10bn, with SoftBank hoping to purchase shares at $85 to $89.
Tiger Global Management, currently Flipkart’s largest shareholder, is expected to sell $700m worth of shares but will retain approximately 20% of stock. Tiger’s willingness to sell was already rumoured in early August 2017.
Accel, IDG Ventures and Kalaari Capital are also expected to be part of the transaction, as are some existing and former staff of Flipkart who own a stake in the company, though SoftBank has put an undisclosed cap on the amount individuals can sell.
The news follows SoftBank’s commitment in August 2017 to buy between $1.2bn and $1.4bn worth of shares in from existing backers. SoftBank also made a direct investment at the time, reported to have been at least $2.5bn, though the amount remains unconfirmed.
Founded in 2007, Flipkart operates an e-commerce marketplace focused on India that lists some 80 million products across more than 80 departments, such as smart home automation, men and women’s clothing, furniture and silverware.
Flipkart raised $1.4bn in an April 2017 funding round that included internet company Tencent, online auction platform eBay, software developer Microsoft and e-commerce and media group Naspers.
The company had previously obtained a total of approximately $3.3bn, with corporate backers also including media company Bennett Coleman and Co, which invested $39m in February 2017.
Qatar Investment Authority and GIC, the respective sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and Singapore, are also among Flipkart’s backers, as are Steadview Capital, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, DST Global, Sofina, Iconiq Capital, India, Baillie Gifford, Greenoaks Capital and T. Rowe Price.