US retail giant Walmart has reportedly entered negotiations to take a stake in India’s Flipkart Online Services, in a deal reported to be valued at around $1bn.
Flipkart is Amazon’s primary competitor in the expanding Indian ecommerce market, and the move would represent a an important step on Walmart’s part to go head-to-head against Amazon.
The agreement would only represent a minority stake of the Indian retailer, and a recent valuation set the value of the company at around $16bn.
Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, has appeared reluctant to invest heavily in the development towards online shopping, but this deal would be a sue sign of its intentions in the industry.
Amazon and Flipkart are currently locked in a battle within India, with both increasingly offering incentives and promotions to vendors, in the hope of coming out in top.
Morgan Stanley have said the turnover gathered by the Indian ecommerce market could hit $119bn in the next four years.
Investment in India is continuing to increase as businesses eye potential in the region for ecommerce growth.
Walmart in negotiations for $1 bn Flipkart investment
