Walmart buys online retailer Flipkart for $16 billion

Walmart has agreed to buy a controlling stake in India’s largest online retailer for $16 billion.

After signing an agreement on Wednesday, Walmart will buy a 77 percent stake in Flipkart, according to the company. The acquisition surpasses Walmart’s $10.8 billion deal to buy United Kingdom’s Asda back in 1999 and dwarfs its more recent acquisition of Jet.com for $3 billion, according to the Associated Press.

Walmart has 38 stores located in the greater Dayton area, according to the company’s store locator.

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Flipkart, which was founded in Bengaluru, India in 2007, sells everything from clothing to electronics, books, appliances and more, according to the company’s website. Flipkart serves more than 800 cities and makes around 500,000 deliveries daily. Last fiscal year, Flipkart reported sales of $4.6 billion, according to Walmart.

The rest of Flipkart’s shares will be remain in the hands of Microsoft, Tiger Global Management, Tencent Holdings and Flipkart’s co-founder Binny Bansal, according to CSA.

The acquisition will greatly expand Walmart’s reach in one of the globe’s biggest retail markets. Walmart officials said they expect India’s online commerce to grow four times faster than the overall retail industry and Morgan Stanley has estimated that India’s e-commerce market will be worth $200 billion by 2026.

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The deal also gives Walmart more ammunition against Amazon, which has targeted India for expansion in recent years, CSA reports.

Walmart’s business in India had previously been focused on small businesses. The company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, opened its first wholesale outlets in India in 2009, but Indian law prevents it from selling products directly to people, the AP reports.

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