INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Walmart looks likely to take the next round in the battle for India's retail market over rival Amazon.com.Flipkart Online Services, the
country's leading e-commerce company, is leaning toward selling a controlling stake to the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company, rather than
Amazon, because of the greater certainty in such a deal, according to people familiar with the matter
1.3 lakh crores), said the people, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.Flipkart's board recently met to discuss the
competing proposals and thinks Walmart could close a deal more quickly and smoothly, the people said
Walmart faces fewer regulatory hurdles because it has no online retail presence in the country now, while Amazon is the second-largest
e-commerce player and Flipkart's primary rival
executives have emphasised their commitment to the market.A Walmart deal has been discussed since at least last year and could still change
SoftBank Group Corp., Flipkart's largest shareholder, may prefer a sale to Amazon in part because of its success in cracking open the
e-commerce business, one of the people said
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has committed $5.5 billion to India and his country chief, Amit Agarwal, has made progress by adapting the site to
local conditions.Walmart, Amazon and Flipkart declined to comment.Walmart is in talks to take a minority stake in Flipkart that could go up
to 50 or 60 percent, said the people
The amount will depend in part on which of Flipkart's existing shareholders want to sell, including SoftBank and Tiger Global Management
Bloomberg News reported last month that Walmart would likely pay about $7 billion for one-third of the company.If completed, the deal would
give Walmart a major stake in an emerging market of 1.3 billion people
Holding.Amazon and Bezos are pushing hard for deal with Flipkart because they realize Walmart's money will fortify its rival and make
competition even more fierce
By contrast, an Amazon deal for Flipkart would consolidate the market and allow Bezos to step up investments in a country still in need of
basic infrastructure for faster delivery and high-quality goods.Still, an Amazon deal would be much more complicated than one with Walmart,
Because of regulatory concerns, Amazon would likely have to offer concessions to government authorities, such as continuing to operate the
two e-commerce sites as independent brands
fee if the deal fails.A $20 billion price tag would be substantially higher than Flipkart's valuation of about $12 billion last year
It is already the most valuable startup in India.Tiger and SoftBank are currently the startup's largest shareholders, followed by South
