Naspers Group, Iconiq Capital join online retailer’s funding list
Online retailer Flipkart.com on Friday said that it has raised funding from two new investors — MIH, part of the Naspers Group, and Iconiq Capital —along with its existing investors, Tiger Global and Accel Partners. The company did not disclose the amount, but according to sources, it is expected to be about $150 million.
With this round of funding, MIH has now joined the board, the company said. South Africa-based Naspers is a leading multinational group of media and e-commerce platforms, listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange, while Iconiq Capital is a global multi-family firm, headquartered in San Francisco.
The company plans to utilise the fund in expanding supply chain capacities, launching new categories and in growing the talent pool to continue building its leadership position.
“This will help us achieve our stated ambition of hitting $1 billion in gross merchandise value by 2015,” said Sachin Bansal, co-founder and CEO of Flipkart.com. The Bangalore-based e-commerce player has earlier raised more than $80 million in four rounds of funding from leading global investors.
Started by IIT batchmates Sachin Bansal (30) and Binny Bansal (29) in 2007, Flipkart has become a household name in the e-commerce space servicing about 50,000 orders a day.
“The focus on building a strong brand and differentiating it through delightful customer service has worked really well for us so far,” said Binny Bansal, co-founder and COO, Flipkart.
Flipkart, which has a user base of 4.5 million, currently has 4,800 employees. The online retail major raised an undisclosed amount late last year from its existing investors, Accel Partners and Tiger Global. In an interview to FE, the founders said they expected to clock revenue of around R2,500 crore by March 2013 and initiate their international foray in a few years. Early this year, the online retail firm acquired Gurgaon-based startup Letsbuy.com.
The acquisition was funded through a combination of cash and equity, but the company did not disclose value of the deal. Letsbuy.com, started by Hitesh Dhingra and Amanpreet Bajaj in 2009, had a reasonable presence in the consumer electronics space.
Online retailer Flipkart.com on Friday said that it has raised funding from two new investors — MIH, part of the Naspers Group, and Iconiq Capital —along with its existing investors, Tiger Global and Accel Partners. The company did not disclose the amount, but according to sources, it is expected to be about $150 million.
With this round of funding, MIH has now joined the board, the company said. South Africa-based Naspers is a leading multinational group of media and e-commerce platforms, listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange, while Iconiq Capital is a global multi-family firm, headquartered in San Francisco.
The company plans to utilise the fund in expanding supply chain capacities, launching new categories and in growing the talent pool to continue building its leadership position.
“This will help us achieve our stated ambition of hitting $1 billion in gross merchandise value by 2015,” said Sachin Bansal, co-founder and CEO of Flipkart.com. The Bangalore-based e-commerce player has earlier raised more than $80 million in four rounds of funding from leading global investors.
Started by IIT batchmates Sachin Bansal (30) and Binny Bansal (29) in 2007, Flipkart has become a household name in the e-commerce space servicing about 50,000 orders a day.
“The focus on building a strong brand and differentiating it through delightful customer service has worked really well for us so far,” said Binny Bansal, co-founder and COO, Flipkart.
Flipkart, which has a user base of 4.5 million, currently has 4,800 employees. The online retail major raised an undisclosed amount late last year from its existing investors, Accel Partners and Tiger Global. In an interview to FE, the founders said they expected to clock revenue of around R2,500 crore by March 2013 and initiate their international foray in a few years. Early this year, the online retail firm acquired Gurgaon-based startup Letsbuy.com.
The acquisition was funded through a combination of cash and equity, but the company did not disclose value of the deal. Letsbuy.com, started by Hitesh Dhingra and Amanpreet Bajaj in 2009, had a reasonable presence in the consumer electronics space.
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