Online marketplace Flipkart's valuation come down sharply to about $10 billion from the earlier $15 billion in its rumoured, latest round of funding that could see the company raise up to $1.5 billion. Flipkart is reportedly holding talks with a clutch of investors including Microsoft, Google, PayPal and Tencent, according to the Mint.
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The e-commerce portal has raised $3.2 billion till date, including a fund infusion of $700 million from existing investors Tiger Global Management, Qatar Investment Authority and others in 2015, valuing Flipkart at $15 billion.
If the reported latest round of funding fructifies, it will be the first under the new CEO, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who joined the company in June last year and was elevated to the top position in January this year, replacing Binny Bansal who moved to the group CEO role.
There are about 15 institutional investors who have stake in Flikpart including HDFC Bank, Accel Partners, Morgan Stanley, Naspers, Tiger Global Management, Qatar Investment Authority, IDG Ventures, DST Global and Vulcan Capital, according to Tracxn that provides information for startups in venture capital, private equity, and corporate development.
The e-commerce company is also planning to reduce office space in Bengaluru by almost half from the 2 million square feet it had planned to take on rent in 2015.
"We are in discussions with Flipkart on the overall space reduction, which, if agreed, can be a win win scenario given the current market scenario and the very low space availability in the market," the Hindustan Times quoted Mike Holland, CEO of Embassy Office Parks, as saying.
Flipkart has two subsidiaries, Myntra and Jabong and competes with Amazon and Snapdeal.
