Walmart acquired a majority stake in Flipkart in 2018. On May 9 that year, Walmart announced an agreement to invest approximately $16 billion for an initial stake of about 77 percent in the Indian e-commerce company.
The transaction was completed after regulatory approval in August 2018. It represented Walmart’s largest acquisition at the time and gave the retailer a leading position in India’s rapidly expanding online-shopping market.
Flipkart was founded in 2007 by former Amazon employees Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. The company began as an online bookstore before expanding into electronics, fashion, appliances, groceries, and other categories.
The deal is sometimes confused with Walmart’s other international investments or with Flipkart’s later ownership changes. The key quiz fact is the year Walmart first purchased majority control: 2018.