Walmart To Get Funds For Flipkart Deal By Next Year!

The Walmart-Flipkart deal which was making headlines earlier this year caught everybody’s attention but, there’s more to the story. The homegrown e commerce firm Flipkart is yet to get the final funds from Walmart. Though the deal is finalized but the funds Walmart Inc., has to give is currently pending as the US retail giant is busy arranging the funds to zip up the deal. According to reports, the retail titan would close the acquisition of a 77 % stake in India’s largest online retailer Flipkart in 2019 i.e, next year.  Walmart had earlier claimed that it will close the deal by the end of 2018. Apparently, Walmart doesn’t seem able to fulfill the demand this year. However, if it fails to arrange the amount by next year, it will have to repay a significant portion of the bond issue. A March 9, 2019 deadline has been set in the share purchase agreement between the two companies around which the termination rights have been negotiated, as per a regulatory filing made in May.

A Walmart spokesperson said Walmart is working with the authorities in India and we are hopeful of timely approval. We are still expecting closing later this calendar year, subject to regulatory approval. The date in the 8 K filing on June 21, 2018, is related specifically to the bonds we recently issued. According to both the firms the proposed transaction does not give rise to competition concerns and the relevant market for the partnership is the pan-India market for B2B sales.

Apart from the fundings, there is another twist in the tale! A huge number of retail and trader groups are protesting with regards to the Walmart-Flipkart deal. About 10 lakh traders would take to the streets as they hold a nationwide protest. The protest is being organised by trade body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and is likely to draw participation from the RSS affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch. The protest is expected to be a sit-in across 1,000 spots in 500 cities.  The CAIT also filed a petition during the end of May with the anti-trust regulator CCI, objecting to the Walmart-Flipkart deal, citing the reason that such a merger would lead to predatory pricing and deep discounts among others. The Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal, of CAIT said we expect the government to intervene and take suitable action in accordance with various announcements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to uplift small businesses in the country. This deal will directly affect small traders of the country who will not be able to compete with Walmart.

Walmart-Flipkart deal is one the largest acquisitions of all time. Can we expect more such deals? Share your views in the comments section below!