Amazon offers to buy 60% stake in Flipkart, says report

Amazon.com Inc has made a formal offer to buy a 60% stake in online retailer Flipkart, CNBC-TV18 reported on Wednesday, citing sources. The offer comes amid reports that Walmart has entered a final stage of negotiations for at least 55% stake in Flipkart.

Amazon also offered Flipkart a breakup fee of $2 billion, the TV channel reported. Amazon’s bid is likely to be on par with Walmart Inc’s bid for the Indian e-commerce company, CNBC-TV18 said.

Flipkart’s investors and founders are in favor of the deal with Walmart, with founder Sachin Bansal overseeing final negotiations with Walmart, CNBC-TV18 said.

Amazon is also seeking a non-compete agreement with Flipkart’s founders, the report added.

A deal with Flipkart would step up the Walmart-Amazon battle for a bigger share of India’s fledgling e-commerce market, which Morgan Stanley estimates will be worth $200 billion in a decade.

The Walmart global team may come to India soon to close the deal, the report added.

A spokesman for Walmart declined to comment, while Amazon said it does not offer comments on rumours and speculation.

Flipkart did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.