Flipkart plans IPO in 12-15 months: Report

Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce platform valued at $36 billion, is readying an initial public offering (IPO) in 2025 with a timeline of 12-15 months, Economic Times reported, citing people in the know.

The proposed listing, likely to be the largest share issue by a new-economy company, will mark a pivotal moment for the India’s startup sector that is now considered as the third largest across the world.

“The process has begun and there is clear understanding that in this timeline the company should be public,” the publication reported a source as saying.

Flipkart, owned by Walmart, has obtained internal approvals needed to move its domicile from Singapore to India, which is being seen as the first step in getting an IPO. It is looking at a public sale of shares by the next calendar year or within the first quarter of 2026, ET reported people in the know as saying.

Flipkart’s move comes at a time when startups like Swiggy, Zomato, and Nykaa have gone the IPO route, piquing retail investor interest.

The e-commerce site has reportedly raised almost $1 billion in funding this year, which includes $350 million from Google. While Flipkart had discussed plans for an IPO late in 2021, the same were put on hold given the adverse market conditions in 2022-23.

However, seeing the new interest, the Bengaluru-headquartered company is planning the IPO, the publication reported, citing a source.

Interestingly, this was part of the deal when Walmart acquired a majority stake in the e-commerce platform back in 2018.

“Global peers like South Korea’s Coupang have made strong recovery in public markets in the last year or so, setting the stage for ecommerce valuation multiples,” another person told ET, noting that the Indian public markets have been kind to large internet businesses that have shown growth and have a clear path to profit.