INDIA - Speculation is swirling that Walmart is the victor in the battle for Flipkart stake, Reuters reports. The retail monolith has submitted its proposal to purchase about 51 percent stake in the company, which amounts to between $10 billion and $12 billion, as early as next week. This would grant Walmart a controlling stake in the company, which is based in India—a country with promising e-commerce businesses that are looking to grow $200 billion over the next decade.

While the purchase has been in talks for a while, as we previously reported, the news source shares that the deal could drag into the first week of May.

Walmart's purchase would result in a loss of main investors for Flipkart, including U.S. hedge fund Tiger Global Management, South African tech investor Naspers, and venture capital firm Accel, the news source explains. In addition to the loss of these investors, Sanchin Bansal and Binny Bansal, former Amazon employees who founded Flipkart, will more than likely sell their stake in the deal.

This news is speculation and all sources refused to be named within the article and join the limelight on the issue. No one from Flipkart or SoftBank would respond for comment, and India-based Walmart declined to comment.

Could this new purchase, should it come to fruition, result in a transatlantic transplant of Flipkart’s offerings? Will it challenge Amazon’s increasingly broadening reach that spans industries? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But, fear not. AndNowUKnow will keep you updated as news is released on this matter and more in our produce industry.

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