Amazon may make rival bid for Flipkart: Report

Amazon.com Inc may submit a rival offer to buy Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart, which is in advanced talks with Walmart Inc for selling a majority stake, the Mint newspaper reported Wednesday.

Amazon has held early exploratory talks to buy Flipkart even as the latter closes in on a sale to Walmart, the report said, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

When IBTimes India reached out, Amazon declined to comment while Flipkart did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Walmart is in talks to buy a 55 percent stake in Flipkart for about $21 billion, and the deal is more likely to go through, the report said.

The deal with Walmart is expected to aid Flipkart in its fight against Amazon, which is slowly bridging the gap with the homegrown rival to expand aggressively in the country's growing e-commerce sector.

Flipkart's standalone market share in India stood at 31.9 percent last year, while Amazon's share was 31.1 percent, a report by Forrester said.

Amazon, the world's biggest online retailer, has ramped up investments to overtake Flipkart. The company invested Rs 1,680 crore in its Indian unit last year as part of its commitment to invest $5 billion to expand its local business.

India is a major growth market for Amazon after it lost China, having been bullied by local players who understood the market much better.

But Jeff Bezos, Amazon's talismanic founder, appears prepared to do whatever it takes to win in India.