Flipkart Announces $50 Mn ESOP Buyback At $35 Bn Valuation

Ecommerce giant Flipkart has announced a $50 Mn (nearly INR 430 Cr) ESOP buyback programme which will likely benefit the company’s 7,000 to 7,500 employees. 

In an internal note, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said that employees can liquidate up to 5% of their outstanding options vested in the three years preceding July 5, 2025 at a price of $174.32 (about INR 14,954) apiece. 

Notably, the Flipkart CEO also added that the company may also conduct another ESOP liquidity event early next year if it achieves its key goals this year. 

The ESOP buyback pegs the company at about $35 Bn, a report by Economic Times said. This is more or less the same valuation at which Flipkart was last valued at in January 2024. Notably, Walmart acquired the company at a valuation of $22 Bn in 2018.

The development comes at a time when the ecommerce major is eyeing an IPO in 2026. As part of this, the company is looking to retain talent amid quick commerce wars, shore up growth and turn profitable. 

The company’s marketplace arm, Flipkart Internet, saw its operating revenue jump 21% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 17,907 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), while loss shrank 41% YoY to INR 2,358 Cr. However, the company could be saddled with additional losses if it fails to control its expenses amid its aggressive quick commerce expansion bid. 

Meanwhile, as part of its IPO, the ecommerce giant is also looking to move its base to India. In the past year, the company has trimmed jobs, shelved non-performing verticals and continuously raised capital from its Singapore-based parent entity to make deeper inroads into the ecommerce space and establish itself in the quick commerce segment. 

To tame its entrenched rivals in the quick delivery space, the ecommerce major has been investing heavily in its quick commerce venture, Flipkart Minutes, and is aiming to open 800 dark stores by the end of the current year.