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Naspers had invested 1.376 billion rand (around $140.1 million in July 2013 exchange rates) for an additional 8.6% stake in in the e-commerce major Flipkart in July 2013, the company has disclosed in its earnings results for the quarter ended September 30, 2013. With this investment, Naspers said it owns 16.7% stake in Flipkart.
This is probably part of the $200 million investment round Flipkart had raised from existing investors like Naspers, Accel Partners, Tiger Global, and ICONIQ Capital in July 2013, thereby valuing the company at around $1.63 billion, up from $1.02 billion in August 2013.
However, note that Flipkart had raised an additional $160 million investment from new investors Dragoneer Investment Group, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Sofina and Vulcan Capital and existing investor Tiger Global in October 2013, making it a total $360 million investment in its fifth round of investment, the largest investment raised by an Internet company in India. There is currently no information on Flipkart’s valuation following this round.
Flipkart was planning to use the capital raised to improve its technology and supply chain capabilities, enhance its end user experience and for hiring.
As of now, Flipkart has raised a total $541 million from five rounds, which includes a reported $150 million funding in August 2012, $20 million in June 2011, $10 million in June 2010 and $1 million in 2009.
In June 2013, Naspers had disclosed that it had invested 858 million rand (around $102.1 million) in Flipkart in return for 10% stake, during the reported $150 million investment round in August 2012.
Flipkart Launches iOS app: Earlier this week, Flipkart had also launched its official iOS app, allowing users to browse through products across various departments or search for product of their preference.
It also allows users to track the status of their order, access their recent Flipkart browsing history offline, share product listings with their friends and access their existing Flipkart account and saved user details. The app is currently available as a free download on the App Store.
Also read: Naspers Had Acquired 80% Stake in redBus For Around $101M
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