Flipkart Acquires Fashion E-tailer Myntra For $300 Million

In what is being termed as the biggest acquisition ever in the Indian e-commerce space, online retailer Flipkart has bought out fashion e-tailer Myntra.com. The move is being seen as a response to counter its fast-growing rival Snapdeal.

Although it was not officially confirmed, analysts’ speculations pegged the buyout at over $300 million.

However, both companies will work independently for now and there is no immediate plan to merge their fashion businesses.

As per the deal, Myntra CEO Mukesh Bansal will join Flipkart’s board and will head the fashion vertical at both Flipkart and Myntra. While Myntra employees will ‘remain in current positions,’ they will also be offered stock options in Flipkart.

Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal insisted that it was a ‘completely different acquisition story’ as it was not ‘driven by distress.’ The heads of both the companies said they were scripting “one of the largest e-commerce stories.”

According to Mukesh Bansal, Myntra alone holds 30% of the market share and together, both the companies will account for 50% of the online fashion market. “We hope to take this figure to about 60-70% in the long term,” he said.

Sachin Bansal further said that Flipkart would invest $100 million in its own fashion vertical in the near future.