Google parent Alphabet gets CCI's approval to acquire stake in Walmart-owned Flipkart

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Google parent Alphabet’s $350 million investment in Flipkart, Walmart's e-commerce arm.

The investment, which is part of a $1 billion funding round, involves a minority stake acquisition through Alphabet’s wholly-owned subsidiary Shoreline International Holdings LLC and a cloud services partnership between Flipkart’s subsidiary and Alphabet.

“The proposed transaction comprises an investment through subscription of shares of Flipkart Pvt Ltd (Target) by Shoreline International Holdings LLC (Acquirer) and an arrangement between an affiliate of the acquirer and the target’s subsidiary for the provision of certain services,” the regulator said.

C-2024/10/1191- Commission approves transaction involving subscription of shares of Flipkart Private Limited by Shoreline, an Alphabet, Inc. subsidiary #merger #cci pic.twitter.com/Q5L2DnNLyV

— CCI (@CCI_India) November 26, 2024

What does Shoreline International do?

Shoreline International operates solely as a holding entity and does not engage in any direct Google product or service activities.

Notably, the transaction values Flipkart at $35-$36 billion, marking a major step in its funding journey.

Walmart, which owns an 85% stake in the Indian ecommerce giant, contributed $600 million to the funding round.

Regulatory clarity

The CCI noted that Alphabet’s investment constitutes an "extremely small and non-controlling acquisition of shareholding" and confirmed that both Flipkart and Alphabet would continue to operate independently. 

The competition watchdog emphasized that its review focused on potential effects in the Indian market for cloud services, as outlined in its order.

"Nonetheless, if the Hon’ble Commission were to assess competitive effects, its assessment should only focus on the markets that are directly implicated by the proposed transaction, i.e., the market for cloud services in India," it said in the order.