Flipkart Plans $2–2.5 Billion Pre-IPO Raise to Fuel Growth

Indian and international investors could put $2 billion to $2.5 billion into Flipkart in a pre-IPO round. A media source states that the corporation has met with many investment bankers in the past few months. Nevertheless, Walmart will make the final decision on the possible mega round.

Walmart currently owns 80% of Flipkart and may be hesitant to decrease its holding before the highly anticipated IPO. The firm has made it clear that it will not be responding to market speculation but would instead be concentrating on growing its business in the long run.

Flipkart Contacting Banks to Streamline Fundraise

As per a media report, CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy of Flipkart Group met with lenders in the United States, Singapore, and London. The purpose of these meetups is to talk about possible fundraising and gauge interest from potential backers. The executives of Flipkart met with US-based bankers including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bank of America (BofA), Citigroup, and others to plan the company's private market fundraising and initial public offering (IPO).

Axis Bank, JM Financial, and Kotak Mahindra Bank are among the Indian bank CEOs the firm has spoken with to gauge interest from investors. Capital Group, an investment management firm based in the US, was also approached by Krishnamurthy to discuss the rise. Additional institutional investors have reportedly shown interest in taking part in the funding round.

The round's valuation is still up in the air, but existing investors may be able to take advantage of a pre-IPO offramp before the IPO. In addition to generating interest among investors in Walmart's public offering, pre-IPO activities will boost paper returns for the retail giant. Within the following twelve to eighteen months, the much-anticipated IPO is anticipated to take place.

Recent Developments at Flipkart

In 2018, Flipkart was acquired by Walmart for $16 billion. In 2024, Flipkart received a $350 million private investment from Google, which put its valuation at $36 billion. Consequently, it has become one of the most valuable startups in India. Flipkart, which was based in Singapore before its IPO, completed its "reverse flip" to India last month. Also last month, after 15 years with the e-commerce titan, its chief financial officer Sriram Venkaraman resigned.

In response to the segment's meteoric rise, Flipkart has spent the last year bolstering its fast commerce offering, Flipkart Minutes. With 800 dark stores up and running in Q1 2026, Flipkart Minutes is well positioned to reach 1,200 soon. The company's marketplace business, Flipkart Internet, had a 14% increase in operating revenue to INR 20,493 Cr in FY25 from INR 17,907 Cr in FY24, according to financial reports. Its net loss for the same period was INR 1,494 Cr, down 37% from INR 2,359 Cr the year before.