Flipkart’s Valuation Downslide Continues In 2017 – T. Rowe Slashes Share Value By 4%

Flipkart’s valuation had a rough 2016 and 2017 seems to have given it no respite either. Once again, US-based mutual fund investor T. Rowe Price has reduced Flipkart’s valuation by another 4% to about $9.9 Bn.

T. Rowe Price had invested about $100 Mn in Flipkart in December 2014, when the firm raised $700 Mn funding. In April 2016, it marked down its shares in by 15%.

The reduction brought down Flipkart’s valuation per share at $93.15, at the end of the December 2016 quarter, from $96.29 during the September 2016 quarter.

This markdown comes right after Morgan Stanley slashed the value of its Flipkart shares by 38.2%. This markdown in November 2016, pegged its valuation at $5.54 Bn.

The markdowns by investors like Morgan Stanley, T. Rowe Price that together hold millions of dollars’ worth of Flipkart stock, could be an indication of  investor belief that the company has been significantly overvalued.

Flipkart’s 2017 started with a major reshuffle in its organisation structure. Co-founder Binny Bansal stepped down from the position of company CEO. Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who was heading the Category Design Organisation became the new CEO of Flipkart. He will be responsible for operationally driving Flipkart and will be responsible for Flipkart’s P&L.

At the same time several other structural changes were also announced, chief among them being the formation of a new Flipkart Group Organization, which will now be headed by Binny.

However, just a day after these leadership changes were announced, three of the top level executives reportedly resigned from the company. The trio included Saikiran Krishnamurthy (Head of etailer supply chain unit Ekart); Samardeep Subandh (Chief Marketing Officer); and Senior Vice President Surojit Chatterjee, who headed product.

(This development was reported by ET.)

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