SoftBank readies to sell its Flipkart stake to Walmart

Ending days of suspense, Japanese firm SoftBank has agreed to sell its entire  stake in Flipkart to US retail giant Walmart, reported The Economic Times.

As per the report, the Japanese firm that has invested around $2.5 billion in Flipkart through its Vision Fund, is expected to make around $4 billion. The company was earlier reluctant to sell the stake due to concerns regarding tax issues and expectation of increase in share value, the report said.

SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son had earlier said that the firm is still weighing its options regarding the sale of its stake in Flipkart to Walmart.

The exit from Flipkart, according to the report, will aid the company in increasing its investment in Paytm Mall which was difficult due to conditions in its Flipkart deal.  Selling of Flipkart stake will free the firm from a clause in its agreement with Flipkart that prevents it from investing more than $500 million in Paytm Mall until 2020.

This, in turn, could lead to a three way competition in country’s e-commerce market between Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm Mall.