Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, June 12: Chinese technology firm Tencent purchased a share in Flipkart from its co-founder Binny Bansal for $264 million (about Rs 2,060 crore) through its European company.
Notably, Flipkart, Singapore-based e-commerce company, only operates in India. After selling a portion of his investment to Tencent Cloud Europe BV, Bansal now owns roughly 1.84 percent of Flipkart.
The deal was concluded on October 26, 2021, and information about it was communicated with government officials at the start of the current fiscal year.
Following the deal, Tencent holds a 0.72 percent ownership in Flipkart, valued at roughly $264 million, according to the e-commerce firm’s most recent valuation of $37.6 billion revealed in July 2021.
After raising $3.6 billion (about Rs 26,805.6 crore) in a capital round headed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, CPP Investments, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Walmart, the company’s worth soared to $37.6 billion.
Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton, and Tiger Global were among the investors in the round, as were Disrupt, Qatar Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and marquee investors Tencent, Willoughby Capital, Antara Capital, Franklin Templeton, and Tiger Global.
Bansal and Tencent completed their transaction after the July investment round.
The deal, according to sources, took place in Singapore. Nonetheless, Flipkart alerted Indian authorities as a responsible business, and the transaction did not fall within the jurisdiction of ‘Press Note 3’, which requires that any Indian company receive financing from countries sharing a land border with India be scrutinised.
While Tencent has invested in a number of enterprises in India, the government has banned various gaming apps, including Tencent Group’s PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite. An email submitted to Flipkart and Bansal received no response. An email submitted to Flipkart and Bansal received no response.
