Flipkart Raises $ 2.5 Billion From SoftBank Vision Fund

The Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart has reportedly raised $ 2.5 billion from SoftBank Vision Fund. Shortly after the merger deal between ecommerce rivals Flipkart and Snapdeal collapsed, it was reported Snapdeal’s majority stakeholder SoftBank would invest close to $2 billion in Flipkart.

According to reports, this round of investment would be an extension of the $1.4 billion investment announced by SoftBank in April and will be close to the $2.5 billion mark.  The Vision Fund will be acquiring a mix of primary and secondary capital, giving Flipkart’s biggest backer, Tiger Global a partial exit.

Cofounder of Flipkart, Binny Bansal, announced the investment in a tweet, welcoming SoftBank Vision Fund as their long term partner.

According to a joint statement released by Flipkart, SoftBank Vision Fund will be the largest shareholder of the company and post the investment Flipkart will have an excess of $ 4 billion on their balance sheet. This investment is also the biggest private investment in an Indian technology company.

Speaking about the investment, Binny Bansal said, “This is a monumental deal for Flipkart and India. Very few economies globally attract such overwhelming interest from top tier investors.” The funding round will help accelerate Bengaluru based Flipkart’s investment in driving continued market leadership.

Chairman and Founder of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, calling India a land of vast opportunity, said, “We want to support innovative companies that are clear winners in India because they are best positioned to leverage technology and help people lead better lives. As the pioneers in Indian e-commerce, Flipkart is doing that every day.” Masayoshi Son has also publicly announced SoftBank’s long term commitment to invest in India.

The CEO of the Vision Fund, Rajeev Mishra said, “The Vision Fund is proud to be a part of this landmark transaction which is a strong endorsement in India and its thriving economy.”

Sachin Bansal tweeted about this investment calling it a monumental deal.

The CEO of Flipkart, Kalyan Krishnamurthy also tweeted saying the investment from Vision Fund comes at an opportune time for Flipkart.