India’s Flipkart Raises $1.4B From Three Major Players

Flipkart, India’s leading eCommerce marketplace, has raised $1.4 billion from Tencent Holdings, Microsoft and eBay.

According to Fortune, this latest round — Flipkart’s biggest to date — comes on the heels of unconfirmed rumors that the company is planning a takeover of its rival Snapdeal. This recent funding boosts Flipkart’s valuation to $11.6 billion. Tencent, Microsoft and eBay join past investors including Naspers Group, Tiger Global Management, Accel Partners and DST Global.

As part of the deal, eBay invested $500 million in Flipkart for a stake, and the two companies will merge in India, with Flipkart owning and operating eBay’s business in the South Asian country.

CNBC reports that China’s Tencent will become a “strategic investor,” bringing experience in linking social networking and eCommerce.

“We are delighted that Tencent, eBay and Microsoft — all innovation powerhouses — have chosen to partner with us on their India journey. We have chosen these partners based on their long histories of pioneering industries and the unique expertise and insights each of them brings to Flipkart. This deal reaffirms our resolve to hasten the transformation of commerce in India through technology,” Flipkart cofounders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal said in a press release.