Whoa! Now that is big. Finally, an Indian internet company could have managed to get itself valued at $1 Bn. No guesses here, it is Flipkart.
According to VCCircle’ s sources,
Flipkart Online Services Pvt Ltd, which runs the e-commerce site Flipkart.com, is close to raising $150 million in a PE round of funding from the private equity firm General Atlantic Partners. This funding values the company at a whopping $1 Bn making Flipkart the first internet firm in India to join the Bn $ club
With the kind of valuation it is attracting, Flipkart has set a new benchmark for Indian internet firms and given a hint that Indian internet companies can stand alongside the silicon valley internet companies. To put things into perspective, Twitter is valued at $8 Bn. Now the two companies have nothing in common so it might be foolhardy to compare it like this. But Twitter is a global phenomenon whereas Flipkart is at best an online seller. From where I am standing, a $1 Bn valuation for Flipkart sounds amazing.
Flipkart has been running wild for quite a while and I absolutely love the company for its service. So much so, that the last post I wrote on Flipkart taking the Indian e-commerce space by storm, someone suggested that I might be their PR agent or something. Well,Ii am not and this customer evangelism is what has worked for Flipkart in my opinion.
Flipkart couldn’t have raised another round at any better time. The big daddy of e-commerce- Amazon has announced it grand plans to enter the Indian soil. Whether Amazon will be able to dwarf the likes of Flipkart is not known but it sure can give it a tough fight. A $150 Mn funding could very well provide Flipkart the lever to beef up its armoury should Amazon come looking for blood.
On the same note, here is another interesting angle to the timing of the funding. There are talks that Amazon is expected to strike partnerships with incumbent e-commerce players in India.
Apparently, Flipkart has earlier denied an acquisition proposal by Amazon and Amazon might face challenges to partner with other incumbents. Could the $1 Bn valuation make Amazon take notice again and make on offer Flipkart can’t refuse. If I am not wrong, Flipkart has raised multiple rounds from various investors. If Amazon makes a superb offer, could investors push Flipkart to consider the deal? I wouldn’t’ really want that to happen considering that Indian e-commerce market still has enough space for multiple players.
What are your thoughts on the possibility of Flipkart’s being valued at $1 Bn