Digbijay Mishra

Flipkart, India's largest ecommerce firm valued at $36 billion, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) in the coming year with a definite timeline of 12-15 months, multiple people aware of the development said.

Ranjit Babu, head of consumer electronics at Amazon India, has resigned amidst a wave of senior-level departures. Babu's exit follows the recent restructuring and departure of India head Manish Tiwary. This comes as Amazon India faces increased competition and prepares to launch its quick commerce service, 'Tez'.

Synopsis Flipkart, India's leading e-commerce giant, is gearing up for a landmark IPO within the next 12-15 months. The Walmart-owned company has initiated the process by shifting its domicile to India, aiming for a public listing by late 2025 or early 2026. Flipkart , India's largest ecommerce firm valued at $36 billion, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) in the coming year with a definite timeline of 12-15 months, multiple people aware of the development said. The proposed listing, which is likely to be the largest share issue by a new-economy company, will mark a seminal moment for the country's startup sector that is now regarded as the third largest worldwide. The Walmart-owned firm has secured internal approvals to move its domicile from Singapore to India, regarded as a first step to an IPO, and is targeting a public sale of shares by the end of the next calendar year or within the first quarter of 2026, people in the know told ET. “The process has begun and there is clear understanding that in this timeline the company should be public,” one of the sources said. Flipkart's India IPO will top a roster of about a dozen new-age firms lining up for the bourses in 2025. This follows successful listings by a swathe of consumer internet firms including Zomato Nykaa and Swiggy that has piqued retail investor interest in Indian startups. ET was the first to report on May 13 about Flipkart's plans to move its parent company back to India. The online commerce major has also raised nearly $1 billion in funding this year including $350 million from Google . It has actively discussed plans for an IPO since late 2021 , but the discussions were put on hold following adverse market conditions during 2022-23. However, the recent spate of consumer firms' IPOs in India has reignited interest in a public share sale at the Bengaluru-headquartered company, the sources said. This was also part of the deal when Walmart acquired majority holding in Flipkart in 2018. “Global peers like South Korea's Coupang have made strong recovery in public markets in the last year or so, setting the stage for ecommerce valuation multiples,” another person aware of the matter said, noting that Indian public markets have been rewarding large internet businesses that are showing growth and have a clear path to profit. A spokesperson for Flipkart did not respond to ET's email query as of press time Sunday. Big payouts For Walmart , a big-ticket listing by Flipkart will deliver a significant payout. Since its acquisition of the Indian etailer in 2018, the Bentonville-based retailer has invested well over $2 billion in primary capital in Flipkart over multiple tranches of funding. Earlier this year it pumped in $600 million . Walmart owns nearly 81% in Flipkart. SoftBank , GIC are among other investors in the company. "We are looking at and exploring when will be the right time to IPO that business (Flipkart). But now there's strong growth both in Flipkart and in PhonePe, and we're excited about the India market," Kath McLay, president and CEO, Walmart International , had said in May during an earnings call. Last year, Tiger Global, Accel—both early backers of Flipkart—and cofounder Binny Bansal made a full exit from the firm by selling their remaining stake in the online retail firm to Walmart. Road to IPO At Flipkart—led by group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy—the focus is on further sharpening its bottom line while growing at a rate that is slightly higher than industry average. ET has been reporting about the top-level restructuring and pruning of costs across businesses—new and existing—that has been underway during 2024. During its October quarter earnings call, Walmart said that Flipkart recorded double-digit growth during the flagship Big Billion Days sale this year and had contributed to Walmart's income globally. Owing to the seismic shift underway in online retail due to the rise of quick commerce, Flipkart has also entered the segment with its offering—Minutes —in what is a key priority area for the firm and the next big area of growth. Last week, its fashion platform Myntra also announced 30-minute delivery service M-now , underscoring the big bet from the group on fast deliveries across a range of segments. Flipkart is operating over one hundred dark stores even as arch-rival Amazon is preparing to enter the sector by January. Analysts estimate that the Indian ecommerce industry clocked Rs 1 lakh crore in gross sales during the festive month this year and that Flipkart has maintained its pole position during the key festive season. Flipkart has also altered its priorities across businesses like travel, medicine, at-home services and social commerce, keeping in mind its plans to be profitable. Krishnamurthy had told staffers in a town hall earlier this year that the company is making headway towards that. Apart from Minutes, payments and lending are other focus areas. The company has set up a new payments app Super.money , run by its senior executive Prakash Sikaria, but housed under a separate entity owned by Flipkart. The ecommerce firm has also enabled Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments through its own platform. Advertising is a major pillar of revenue for Flipkart, contributing nearly Rs 5,000 crore in FY24 , surpassing its marketplace fee income. In FY24, Flipkart Internet, the marketplace arm of Flipkart, reported operating revenue of Rs 17,907.3 crore , up nearly 21% year-on-year, while its losses fell 41% to Rs 2,358 crore. Flipkart's ad income grew at a fast pace—at over 50% during the year. Coming home Started in 2007 as an online bookstore, Flipkart's holding company is registered in Singapore. Several top startups that were set up during the time chose to have holding companies abroad owing to easier funding environments and regulations. PhonePe too was based in Singapore but moved domicile here leading to $1 billion in tax gains for the local government here. Depending on the route taken for a merger between two entities in India and Singapore, a tax outgo will come into play. PhonePe separated from Flipkart formally during late 2022 and raised external capital from investors including Walmart—its largest investor. Several startups like Zepto, Meesho, Udaan, Eruditus, Kreditbee, Razorpay and Livspace are also looking to move domiciles to India primarily linked to their plans for an eventual IPO. “The Indian public market multiples on revenue and Ebitda is just much more attractive,” a founder said. It makes sense, especially for consumer brands, to list in the local market due to the familiarity of their products, services and platform in the country, several industry executives said. Recently the government also simplified rules for domicile shift by companies.

Prosus nears a deal to lead a $50 million funding round in Indian fintech Jar, marking its third major fintech investment this year. This follows Prosus's $500 million write-off from Byju's and signals renewed interest in India's growing fintech sector. Jar, valued at $300 million, enables gold-based savings and has expanded into e-commerce and lending.

This will be Amazon's first global launch of a 15-minute delivery service. Agarwal, who kept the name still under wraps, said the firm will sell 1,000-2,000 products ready to be delivered in 15 minutes in Bengaluru and then scale it to other cities.

This will be Amazon's first global launch of a 15-minute delivery service. Amit Agarwal, who kept the name still under wraps, said the firm will

Akasa Air is securing a $130-140 million investment from a consortium led by Premji Invest and Claypond Capital. The Jhunjhunwala family is also reinvesting, maintaining their majority stake. The funds will support Akasa's expansion plans and aircraft pre-delivery payments, despite delays in Boeing 737 Max deliveries impacting projected income.

Bluestone, a jewellery retailer, has filed for an IPO, aiming for a valuation of ₹12,000-13,000 crore. The IPO will comprise ₹1,000 crore in new shares and ₹2,000-2,100 crore from existing investors. This represents a significant jump from its ₹8,100 crore valuation in August. Strong investor interest in the jewellery retail sector fuels this increase.

Accel India has secured $650 million for its eighth fund, while its global growth fund has raised $1.35 billion. A portion of this will be invested in pre-IPO rounds of Indian startups, bringing Accel's total India commitments to nearly $3 billion. This move comes as several Accel-backed companies, including Bluestone, are preparing for IPOs.

Indian startups saw over $5 billion in exits through secondary transactions, IPOs, and block deals in 2024. This trend is expected to accelerate in 2025 with a projected doubling of IPOs. Secondary deals are providing liquidity for existing investors and entry points for new investors, even in younger companies preparing for public listings.