In exchange for an equity stake in Flipkart, eBay had made a cash investment and sold its eBay.in business to Flipkart in April this year

Flipkart

India’s largest e-commerce marketplace Flipkart and smaller rival eBay India have successfully concluded the merger, according to a press release.

The deal was announced in April this year when the Flipkart Group raised US$1.4 billion from global technology majors eBay, Tencent and Microsoft. In exchange for an equity stake in Flipkart, eBay had made a cash investment and sold its eBay.in business to Flipkart.

Effective immediately, Flipkart will own and operate eBay.in, which will remain an independent entity as a part of Flipkart.

Additionally, both companies are also partnering to leverage opportunities in cross-border trade. As a result, Flipkart customers will get expanded product choices with the wide array of global inventory available on eBay, while eBay customers will have access to more unique Indian inventory from Flipkart sellers. The partnership will thus provide a new opportunity for Flipkart sellers to expand their sales globally.

Speaking about the development, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said: “Being an early mover, eBay.in has a unique standing in the Indian e-commerce market, which is a great addition to Flipkart’s leadership position. Our coming together directly benefits Indian customers and sellers for whom we want to provide the best possible e-commerce experience. This is a step in that direction.”

The Flipkart Group is one of the home-grown e-commerce marketplace in India and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong, PhonePe and now eBay.

Separately, various Indian media have reported that SoftBank is still in talks to invest in Flipkart, despite the collapse of the Bangalore-based e-commerce company’s merger deal with Snapdeal. SoftBank’s original plan was to infuse US$1 billion into Flipkart as part of the Snapdeal merger. But on Monday, the company called off the deal and decided to pursue independent path.

SoftBank, the largest investor in Snapdeal, is looking to invest up to US$2 billion in Flipkart, according to reports.

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