Flipkart reportedly to raise up to $1.5bn in new funding round

After a tough season marked by devaluations, cash crunch and executive exits, Flipkart is finally making news for all the right reasons. India's largest e-commerce marketplace is all geared up to get between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion in fresh capital from Tencent Holdings Ltd, Microsoft Corp. and eBay Inc.

According to a Livemint report, Flipkart will get a pre-money valuation of $10 billion in this round, which is expected to close next week, making it the largest ever fundraising by an Indian start-up.

Furthermore, the company is said to be in talks with Japan-based SoftBank for the acquisition or merger of Snapdeal. Apparently, Flipkart's proposed buying of eBay’s India operations will also take some more time to materialise.

Citing sources, the report adds that even after receiving $1.5 billion, the company may not close the round and keep it open to make room for more investors. A person aware of the development adds that if Flipkart ends up acquiring rival Snapdeal, SoftBank will also invest more cash in the company.

Also, there is a possibility that the company’s largest shareholder — Tiger Global Management sells a significant percentage of its stake to SoftBank. Notably, Tiger Global has pumped in about $1 billion into Flipkart over the past eight years and currently holds about 30-33 percent in the online retailer.

All these developments bode well for the homegrown e-tailer locked in a fierce battle with US-based Amazon that has also committed to investing over $5 billion in the Indian unit.