According to sources the general understanding was that Flipkart is being taken over by Walmart Inc., Amazon seems to have stirred up the pot a bit by dangling a higher price than Walmart will pay. Meanwhile the latest development being reported is that while most other stakeholders are keen on going ahead with the deal already worked out with Walmart, SoftBank, the Japanese investor with a sizable chunk of shares in Flipkart appears inclined to wait till Amazon makes its proper offer.
Accordingly the sense is that Amazon has sent out feelers that it is willing to pay 10 to 15% higher than Walmart’s offer. Meanwhile in terms of the holding structure of Flipkart’s stakes, Tiger Global Management has around 20% and almost the same proportion is with SoftBank as well. Moreover South African giant has around 13% and the rest with the promoters and minor investors.
Furthermore Walmart is likely to get three or four out of the 10 board
seats at Flipkart. Media reports that the company is expected to be run independently
with the co founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, along with CEO Kalyan
Krishnamurthy retaining their current posts.
