Flipkart Plans IPO and Domicile Shift to India Within 12-15 Months

India’s largest e-commerce company worth $36 billion, Flipkart is preparing to go public in the next 12 to 15 months and will list at the end of 2025 or early 2026, among the many milestones that are going to mark the rise of India as one of the largest startup ecosystems across the world. 

Flipkart has already received internal clearances to shift its corporate headquarters from Singapore to India as a part of the IPO process. The company’s decision to move to India comes after other big-ticket consumer internet companies like Zomato, Nykaa, and Swiggy have successfully gone public and piqued investor interest in the sector. 

Flipkart, which offers services in the country through several subsidiaries such as marketplaces, logistics, and payments-related services, is going to consolidate in India now. The move reiterates a long-term view of Flipkart in expanding its strength in the markets. The comparable moves of other new-age firms like PhonePe and Zepto have reflected how listings of home markets have become quite appealing, especially due to valuations, as they are friendly to the emotions of investors across the country. 

Walmart, which owns 81% of Flipkart, sees much promise in the growth perspective of the company. Over the last three years that Walmart has owned Flipkart – having bought it in 2018 for $16 billion – it has infused more than $2 billion into the entity. The IPO is a befitting milestone for realization of the true potential at Flipkart. Speaking on its recent earnings call, the chief executive officer of Walmart International, Kath McLay, described Flipkart as a core part of Walmart’s global strategy and having healthy growth prospects. 

Indian e-commerce has been booming, but in its market, Flipkart leads it. Starting as a bookstore in 2007, it now has expanded to become the market leader who, even with stiff competition from Amazon, is hard to shake off its position at the top. 

During the festive season in 2024, the sales of the Indian e-commerce industry were recorded to be Rs 1 trillion, while Flipkart still dominated a good portion of it. Besides e-commerce, Flipkart is diversifying into payments, advertisement, and quick commerce. 

The recent launch of UPI payments app Super.money is the epitome of a bigger strategy to derive revenues through multiple streams. Flipkart will solidify its leadership position in the fast-growing Indian market as it goes ahead with its much-awaited IPO and relocates to India.