Authors: JordanMumbai:Country's largest online marketplace Flipkart has bought back $350 million worth of shares from its investors as it seeks to convert its Singapore-incorporated company to a private limited firm, in a move that could ease the way in for a new strategic investor.
US retail giant Walmart Inc is in advanced talks with Flipkart to acquire a controlling stake of more than 51 percent in the Bengaluru-based e-commerce firm at a valuation of at least $18 billion, sources previously told Reuters.: Amazon Offers To Buy 60% Stake In Flipkart: ReportFlipkart Ltd purchased shares for $350.5 million from some of its investors including Tiger Global and Accel, according to May 3 regulatory filings from Singapore's Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, sourced by business intelligence platform paper.vc.It also began the process of converting Flipkart to a private limited company, changing its name to Flipkart Pte Ltd, the filings showed.Stakeholders in a private limited company are usually bound by a contract and have more flexibility than in a public company."Typically strategic investors don't like to deal with multiple shareholders because it just becomes more cumbersome," a senior lawyer told Reuters.
"So they very often ask companies to clean up the cap table or consolidate small shareholders." Thomson Reuters 2018(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)