Walmart may lock Flipkart deal this week; to get 3 seats on board: Sources

Walmart is likely to announce its much-anticipated deal to buy a controlling stake in Indian e-commerce player Flipkart before the end of this week, two sources said, in what is likely to be the US retail giant's biggest acquisition of a business.

Walmart and Google parent Alphabet Inc will buy up to 75 per cent of Flipkart, the two sources familiar with the matter said, declining to be named as the talks are private.

Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart will acquire about a 60 per cent stake in Flipkart, while Alphabet will get a roughly 15 per cent stake in the online marketplace for about $3 billion, one of the sources said.

Reuters previously reported that Walmart was in advanced talks to acquire 51 per cent or more of the e-commerce player for $10 billion to $12 billion, valuing Flipkart at some $18 billion to $20 billion.

Both sources said that Flipkart Group Chief Executive Binny Bansal held a closed-door meeting with the firm's top leadership at its Bengaluru headquarters on Monday, and one added that Bansal said that Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal would exit after the Walmart deal is sealed.