Flipkart completes merger with eBay’s India operations

In exchange of an equity stake in Flipkart, eBay had made a cash investment of $500 million and sold its eBay.in business to Flipkart.

E-commerce major Flipkart said on Tuesday it has completed the merger with eBay India’s operations.

The logo of India's largest e-commerce firm Flipkart is seen on the facade of the company's headquarters in Bengaluru. (REUTERS)

With this, eBay.in will now be a Flipkart Group company. The deal was announced in April when the Flipkart group raised $1.4 billion from global technology majors eBay, Tencent and Microsoft.

In exchange of an equity stake in Flipkart, eBay had made a cash investment of $500 million and sold its eBay.in business to Flipkart.

The announcement comes a day after smaller rival Snapdeal said it was terminating all discussions of a potential merger. While Snapdeal did not name Flipkart, it had been widely reported that both were negotiating a merger for the last five months.

“Effective immediately, Flipkart will own and operate eBay.in, which will remain an independent entity as part of Flipkart,” Flipkart said in a statement.

Besides, the companies will also partner to leverage opportunities in cross-border trade, it added.

“As a result, Flipkart customers will get expanded product choices with the wide array of global inventory available on eBay while eBay customers will have access to a more unique Indian inventory from Flipkart sellers,” the statement said.

“Our coming together directly benefits Indian customers and sellers for whom we want to provide the best possible e- commerce experience. This is a step in that direction,” Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.