Online retailer Flipkart which recently closed $180 Mn from Steadview Capital in a round which when complete could bring in about $700 Mn in fresh funding for it, has raised about $150 Mn from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), according to the sources close to the development.
Flipkart is valued at over $11 Bn, which makes it as one of the top five privately held technology startups in the world.
According to reports, Flipkart’s existing investors has committed $500-600 Mn in this round.
QIA, the owner of Harrods department store in London, joins GIC of Singapore as another sovereign investor in Flipkart.
Reports of Qatar Investment Authority investing in Flipkart have been in media from past few days; however, Flipkart has declined commenting on the development. Deutsche Bank advised QIA on the just concluded investment, said the source.
This is Flipkart’s third round of funding which it has raised during this year. In May, Flipkart had raised $210 Mn led by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner’s DST Global and later in July it raised a $1 Bn led by existing investors Tiger Global and South Africa’s media group Naspers, taking the total funds raised by it to $2 Bn this year. The company was then valued at about $7 Bn.
On the other side, its competitor, Snapdeal has raised about $ 1 Bn during the current year and Amazon had invested $2 Bn in its Indian operations.
