Walmart/Flipkart deal could include retail stores

RTIH reported on Friday that Walmart was in talks to purchase a stake of more than 40% in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart.

It has since emerged that negotiations include a proposal to open a chain of retail stores in India. “Flipkart has been trying to foray into offline stores for a long time and has been looking for the right partner,” an investment banker told The Economic Times.

In what would be one of its biggest overseas deals, Walmart is looking at buying new and existing shares in Flipkart and due diligence is likely to begin this week. The retailer has held intermittent talks with the Amazon rival over the past two years, with the two inking a non-disclosure pact in 2016 that was renewed in 2017. It is now looking, however, at a 20% stake because of objections from Flipkart investor SoftBank, which holds a 20.8% stake in the company, The Economic Times reports.

Walmart is unable to directly open retail stores in India due to restrictions on overseas investments in multi-brand retail. It instead runs wholesale operations.