Even As Walmart Loses $10 Billion In Market Cap Post Flipkart Deal, India Is Now Officially The Battleground Between Amazon And Walmart

As retail giant Walmart acquired India’s Flipkart today (9 May) for $16 billion in the world’s largest e-commerce acquisition, the Arkansas-based firm saw its market capitalisation drop by a massive $10 billion. Walmart’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) fell by around 5 per cent, leaving its market cap at $252 billion while its rival Amazon saw gains, leaving it with a market cap of $776 billion.

The acquisition, the largest ever for the American firm and also the largest of its kind in India will now see competition heat up between the two giants in a marketplace that has a potential of 1.3 billion users.

Walmart and Flipkart began discussions way back in 2016 for acquiring a minority state in the Indian player. The deal – finalised today after Flipkart’s majority investor Softbank of Japan agreed to sell its stake –will now see Sachin Bansal completely exit the firm he co-founded in 2007.

After being upstaged in major markets including the United States by Amazon, Walmart began to strengthen its e-commerce side through acquisitions over the last few years. While Walmart had been a big player in the Indian wholesale scene, it will now have access to the retail scene through this acquisition.

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How Walmart’s Purchase Of Flipkart Will Change The Rules Of Online Game

GAFA & Walmart-Flipkart Are Today’s East India Companies And We Seem Ready To Be Colonised Again