Flipkart Seeking $15 Billion Valuation In New $800 Million Private Funding: Report

Flipkart Ltd., widely seen as India’s largest online shopping site by total value of goods sold, is seeking a valuation of as much as $15 billion in a fresh round of funding, Mint newspaper reported on Monday, citing two people with knowledge of the plan.

The company is looking to raise between $600 million and $800 million from existing investors, which would value the privately held online retailer at $14 billion to $15 billion, according to the report. The company is said to have been valued at $11 billion after a $700 million funding round in December.

Flipkart is targeting to sell merchandise with gross value of $8 billion this year, Reuters reported in February, and the company is said to be preparing for a $5 billion public listing in the U.S. Such a listing could value the Indian company at as much as $35 billion, Times of India newspaper reported in January.

The company, which raised $1.9 billion from existing and new investors last year, is looking to raise another $1.7 billion, where New York’s Tiger Global Management, the largest investor, could invest in multiple tranches -- at a valuation of $15 billion, Economic Times newspaper reported in February.

Like its larger American competitor Amazon.com Inc., Flipkart makes no profits, plowing back cash into expanding its business, which includes investing in warehouses, adding technology and building the business processes needed to serve billions of customers.

This year the company has made high-profile recruitments to fill senior executive positions, including Saikiran Krishnamurthy, who was a director in India at McKinsey and Co., and ex-Googler Punit Soni, who is now chief products officer at the online retailer. Flipkart also has invested in acquisitions, including mobile advertisement company Adiquity.