MUMBAI, July 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Walmart (WMT.N) is bumping up its stake in Flipkart, India’s e-commerce large, at a good-looking valuation. The U.S. retailer is shopping for shares from Tiger Global for $1.4 billion, in keeping with the Wall Street Journal. The buy, which in all probability pushes the father or mother’s possession degree to round 80%, values the corporate at $35 billion. It’s a great deal for the vendor as traders assess India’s hottest retail companies.

The price ticket is a mere 8% low cost to the $38 billion Flipkart was pegged at in mid-2021 when it welcomed back Japan’s GentleBank (9984.T) as an investor as a part of a wider $3 billion-odd fundraising spherical. Shares of prime rival, Amazon (AMZN.O), have fallen roughly 28% over the identical interval and Nykaa (FSNE.NS), India’s on-line beauty-to-fashion store and the one comparable home inventory, trades some 60% beneath the place the inventory closed on its market debut in November 2021.

An preliminary public providing of Flipkart stays a long-term ambition for Walmart. Reliance Industries’ (RELI.NS) retail unit would possibly come sooner; analysts peg its valuation anyplace between $57 billion and $131 billion. How the market lastly values India’s shopper might be carefully watched. (By Una Galani)

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