South African internet firm raises stake in Indian online retailer to 17.7%; In all, it has invested a total of around $292 million in Flipkart
Naspers, a global platform operator listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa, has increased its holding in India's leading ecommerce company Flipkart Pvt Ltd.
The company, which has interests in internet-based businesses, eCommerce, pay-television and print media, bought additional stake in Flipkart investing Rs 308.2 crore, or South African Rand 543 million. The company, however, did not disclose details about the extent of stake it acquired or the valuation at which it was bought.
According to a provisional financial report on the company's website, Naspers said, "During May 2014, the group invested a further R543 million in cash in Flipkart and that it now has a 17.7% interest in Flipkart on a fully diluted basis."
Naspers, in its 2012 annual report, had said that it invested $102 million in Flipkart in August 2012 for a 10% stake, valuing Flipkart at $1 billion. Last July, Naspers had participated in another round of fundraising by Flipkart worth $360 million, wherein Naspers contributed around $140 million, increasing its holding to 16.7%. Based on this investment, Flipkart's valuation increased to $1.6 billion.
Naspers further disclosed that in July 2013, it had acquired an additional 8.6% interest in Flipkart for Rs 781.1 crore in cash.
In all, Naspers has invested a total of around $292 million in Flipkart, which has till date raised $750 million in investments from various private equity firms.
After acquiring India's biggest fashion portal Myntra for around $300 million in May, Flipkart had announced new fund raise of $210 million from a group of investors led by internet-focused investment group DST Global. Among other investors in Flipkart include ICONIQ Capital, Tiger Global and Accel Partners.
Last year in June, Naspers subsidiary MIH India Global Internet Ltd (MIH India) had acquired a 100% stake in Indian online ticketing platform redBus.in. The total purchase consideration Naspers said was South African Rand 1 billion (Rs 568 crore) in cash.
Naspers' other investments in India include stake in OLX.in. Naspers' subsidiary, MIH India also operates eCommerce platforms under the ibibo brand including the online travel aggregator Goibibo, online shopping site Tradus.com and the payment gateway Payu.in. Its most recent investment is a majority stake Gurgaon-based company Tek Travels that operates the B2B travel portal travelboutiqueonline.com.
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