The valuation of e-commerce player Flipkart has again been cut, the steepest in its decade-long existence.

The US-based mutual fund Fidelity Investments has marked down its valuation of Flipkart to $5.58 billion as of November, which is 36 per cent lower than its last valuation. The last one to reduce the valuation was Morgan Stanley which marked it down by 38 per cent. In July, 2015, Flipkart was valued at $15.2, its highest since it last went to investors to raise funds.

The fresh mark down, according to analysts, could be a sign of how investors view the future of the e-commerce player, though the Flipkart management has always played down such changes.

But it could become slightly more difficult for Flipkart to convince its existing investors as well as the newer ones to raise fresh funds at the valuation it feels it deserves.

Fidelity, in its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, valued its holding in the Indian e-commerce player at $52.13 per share for the three months ending November last year, which is down from $81.55 per share in the previous quarter.

Flipart has seen several management rejigs with the co-founders, Sachin and Binny Bansal being elevated to mentorship roles while handing over the day-to-day operations to Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who was brought in from Tiger Global, which is the largest investor in the e-commerce company.

The valuation downgrade comes at a time when the country’s largest e-commerce player, according to internal sources, is preparing to go public. The entire exercise is expected to get completed in 18-24 months though sources also say that in case it is not able to, there is always a complete exit option.

Krishnamurthy who was recently elevated as the CEO has his task cut out: he has to not only arrest a free fall of the valuation but also see to it that some of his top executives stay back. Over the last one year, there has been a steady exit of senior executives from the company.