By R. Jai Krishna
NEW DELHI--Indian online retailer Flipkart.com said Wednesday it
raised $160 million from five investors, completing a $360 million
fundraising program that began in July.
In the latest round, Flipkart.com raised funds from Dragoneer
Investment Group, Morgan Stanley Investment Management,
Belgium-based investment firm Sofina and Vulcan Capital along with
one of its existing investors, hedge fund Tiger Global Management
LLC.
In July, it raised $200 million from four investors to expand
its operations as competition heats up in the country's growing
ecommerce market.
Tiger Global Management, venture-capital firm Accel Partners,
South Africa-based media firm Naspers and U.S. investment adviser
Iconiq Capital LLC made the investment in the July round, the
Bangalore-based company said.
The funds will be used to spruce up Flipkart's technology
capabilities, logistics chain and staff strength, co-founder and
Chief Executive Sachin Bansal said.
Flipkart, founded in 2007, is an online retailer that sells
products from books to cellphones.
The funding comes at a time when Internet commerce in India is
expected to grow exponentially. The country has already outgrown
Brazil and Russia to become the fifth largest ecommerce market in
the world, behind China, Japan, Germany and the U.S.
The online shopping market is expected to grow 33% to 630
billion rupees ($10.2 billion) in 2013 from about 473 billion
rupees in 2012, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of
India, a New Delhi-based trade body.
About 16% of 2012 sales came from products and services such as
electronics, jewelry, home and kitchen products and consumer
durables--the space in which Flipkart operates in.
Write to R. Jai Krishna at krishna.jai@wsj.com
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