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☆ Green shoots for the IPO market? More companies are looking at going public
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Great IPO Drought has gone on for 18 months, but some are hopeful that may be ending. It still is a mid-sized deal, but it's getting more attention than usual because there is some hopes the Great IPO Drought may have a shot at ending. "A market rise is a necessary precursor for a rebound in IPOs," Matt Kennedy, senior IPO market strategist for Renaissance Capital, told me. Kennedy would know: Renaissance Capital runs the Renaissance Capital IPO ETF, a basket of recent IPOs. It's a long slog back to a 'normal' IPO market As bad as it has been in 2023, it's better than it was in 2022.

Persons: Matt Kennedy, Santosh Rao, Kennedy, DoorDash, Kenvue, Johnson, It's, it's, Cava, Rao Organizations: NYSE, Renaissance Capital, Manhattan Venture Partners, Capital, ARM, Foods, Saks Locations: Cava, IPOs, Snowflake, Palantir, Chao

☆ Walmart reiterates goal of doubling international gross merchandise in five years
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Siddharth Cavale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The analysts meeting and a press presentation by Walmart CEO Doug McMillon were held on Friday in conjunction with the retailer's annual shareholders meeting in Bentonville. Five years ago, Walmart International generated about $120 billion in GMV. Walmart's business model has evolved over the past few years, with a greater focus on omni-channel - a strategy that ties together its e-commerce business, delivery services, advertising and marketplace business. McKenna said Walmart's huge size and technological breadth will give it the leverage to scale this strategy more quickly. Walmart's omni-channel efforts have been a boon for the retailer as recession fears push more Americans to seek bargains in groceries.

Persons: Judith McKenna, Doug McMillon, McKenna, McMillon, Siddharth Cavale, Will Dunham Organizations: Walmart, Bentonville ., Walmart International, International Monetary, omni, Thomson Locations: BENTONVILLE , Arkansas, Mexico, India, Fayetteville , Arkansas, Bentonville, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, United Kingdom

☆ Don't expect an IPO market revival in these conditions even as J&J's Kenvue breaks drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The health of the IPO market is dependent on many factors, but principally it boils down to: 1) the strength of the overall stock market (trending up is best), and 2) interest rates (lower is better). The IPO investor wish list: stable markets, Fed done hiking, and lower IPO prices "The most important factor for the IPO market is you need the market to hold up well," Santosh Rao, head of Research at Manhattan Venture Partners, told me. Another essential ingredient for a healthy IPO market: stable interest rates. But the IPO market hasn't seen a "normal" year in a while. High initial IPO prices have proven to be devastating to IPO investors.

Bharadwaj, a former India managing director of Sequoia Capital who now leads venture capital firm A91 Partners. Indian VC firm Blume Ventures said in an April report consumption outside the top 30 million Indian households dropped sharply, and is driven by a "tiny superuser set". "Indian startups are not catering to a billion consumers. And only 271 Indian startups raised funding in Q1 2023, compared with 561 last year, according to CB Insights. It invested $3 billion in Indian companies in 2021 and another $500 million in 2022, by April that year, Reuters calculations show.

Organizations: & & .

☆ Apple CEO Tim Cook to meet with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi following Mumbai store opening
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Seema Mody | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches slew of infrastructure projects from MMRDA Grounds, at Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East) on Jan. 19, 2023 in Mumbai, India. After opening a flagship store in Mumbai, CEO Tim Cook will travel to New Delhi to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Apple's growth in India is widely seen as a success story by Modi and Indian officials. Flipkart and Amazon are dueling for the top spot in India's e-commerce market, and both face competition from newcomer Meesho. — CNBC's Steve Kovach contributed to this reportWATCH: Tim Cook visits India to open first Apple retail store

☆ Apple to open first company-owned retail store in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, April 5 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is set to open its first official retail store in India's financial hub of Mumbai, the iPhone maker said on Wednesday. The Cupertino, California-based company launched an online retail store in India in 2020. Its 2021 plans for the launch of an offline retail store in the country were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple products have been sold in India for years on ecommerce platforms such as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Walmart Inc's (WMT.N) Flipkart as well as through resellers. Some products in Apple's catalogue, including iPhones, are assembled in India by Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturers Foxconn (2317.TW) and Wistron Corp (3231.TW).

☆ India's Tata Group mulls pumping $2 bln into super app venture -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, March 23 (Reuters) - Indian salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group is considering injecting another $2 billion into its super app venture to bolster its digital business, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Tata Group has also asked Tata Digital to look for ways to boost the valuation of the super app, according to the report. A Tata Group spokesperson and Tata Digital declined to comment on the report. Tata launched the e-commerce super app in April last year, offering everything from apparel to air tickets in a renewed push for a slice of a fast-growing market dominated by Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and Walmart's (WMT.N) Flipkart. Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Walmart pumps $200 mln in Indian fintech PhonePe in ongoing fundraise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, March 17 (Reuters) - Indian digital payments firm PhonePe said on Friday it has raised $200 million from majority backer Walmart Inc (WMT.N) at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. PhonePe, already India's most valuable payments firm and among the country's most highly-valued startups, said the investment is part of its ongoing fundraise of up to $1 billion. American retail behemoth Walmart, which acquired a majority share in PhonePe in 2018, will continue as a majority investor, the Indian company said, without disclosing its stake. PhonePe said it plans to deploy these funds to build and scale new businesses including insurance, wealth management and lending. The relocation, according to some reports, was to ensure an easier entry into the country's highly-regulated financial services industry, especially lending.

☆ Indian digital payments firm PhonePe raises $100 mln at $12 bln valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Indian digital payments firm (WMT.N) PhonePe said on Tuesday it has raised $100 million from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global and TVS Capital Funds in a funding round that valued the Walmart Inc-backed company at $12 billion. The latest round is part of PhonePe's primary fundraise that took place last month through which the company raised $350 million from General Atlantic. Having raised $450 million in six weeks, PhonePe said it expects to raise the rest from global and Indian investors in due course. Despite a funding winter, the Indian digital payments space has been a bright spot due to the popularity of online payments and startups' ambitions to branch into the lucrative financial services space. PhonePe, in which U.S. retail giant Walmart has had a majority stake since 2018, completed its separation from Indian e-commerce major Flipkart last year.

☆ Accel, Tiger Global mull exiting India's Flipkart in $1.5 bln stake sale - ET
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The stake, which collectively amounts to about 5%, would raise Walmart's ownership in the e-commerce giant, the newspaper reported citing people familiar with the matter. "They (Accel and Tiger) want to sell and exit now fully. The discussions are moving ahead and the transaction will close in due time," a person familiar with the matter told ET. Accel owns a little over 1% of Flipkart, while Tiger Global holds about 4% of the company, the report said. Flipkart, Walmart and Tiger Global did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

☆ Shopify laid off 2 engineering VPs earlier in January as fears of more layoffs circulate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Shopify laid off at least two engineering vice presidents earlier in January. Shopify laid off at least two high-ranking engineering leaders this month, according to people familiar with the matter. The two employees were VP of Infrastructure Mike Lents and VP of Engineering Ravi Byakod. A Shopify spokesperson confirmed the departures. Shopify laid off about 10% of its workforce, which included more than 1,000 people, in July 2022.

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) on Monday launched a dedicated air cargo service in India, Amazon Air, as it looks to expand and speed-up deliveries across one of its key markets amid fast-growing e-commerce sales, an executive said on Monday. The move to use a dedicated cargo service will give Amazon tighter control over costs and flight schedules while reducing delivery times across a wider range of products, said Rhoads. "We want to deliver the majority of shipments in two days or less and Amazon Air enables that." India is the third market, after the United States and Europe, where the company has launched Amazon Air. Amazon, which uses its own ground delivery services for shipping, also partners with Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPWGn.DE) controlled Blue Dart Express Ltd (BLDT.NS), one of India's biggest air cargo carriers.

☆ Amazon launches air freight service in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) on Monday launched its own air cargo fleet in India, Amazon Air, as it seeks to expand and speed-up deliveries across one of its key markets. India is the third market, after the United States and Europe, where the company has launched Amazon Air. Quikjet will transport Amazon customer shipments to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai, Amazon said in a press release. The books-to-boots online retailer, which competes with Walmart Inc (WMT.N)-owned Flipkart in India, said the launch of Amazon Air would support over 1.1 million sellers in the country. Amazon, which uses its own ground delivery services for shipping, also partners with Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPWGn.DE) controlled Blue Dart Express Ltd (BLDT.NS), one of India's biggest air cargo carriers.

☆ Walmart strikes a deal with Salesforce to sell more of its tech to other retailers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Walmart Global Chief Technology Officer Suresh Kumar said the deal with Salesforce will help Walmart improve the experience for shoppers. For instance, as Walmart's GoLocal has more packages to deliver from more retailers, its drivers will have denser routes, he said. It began selling Store Assist, technology that its own store employees use, in the summer. In November, Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said Walmart added more than 8,000 sellers to its third-party marketplace in the fiscal third quarter. Walmart will stand out in its app store as a technology by retailers and for retailers, he added.

☆ Walmart gets $1 bln tax bill for shifting PhonePe headquarters to India - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N) and other PhonePe shareholders will have to pay nearly $1 billion in tax after the digital payments company shifted its headquarters to India, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. PhonePe is raising funds at a $12 billion pre-money valuation from General Atlantic, Qatar Investment Authority and others, triggering the hefty charge, according to the report. Investors including Tiger Global Management have now purchased shares of PhonePe in India at the new price, leading to tax implications of roughly 80 billion Indian rupees ($966.13 million) for existing shareholders, Bloomberg News reported. PhonePe, Walmart and Tiger Global did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Walmart said last month it had completed the separation of PhonePe from Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart, adding that it would remain a majority stakeholder in both the companies.

☆ Walmart paid most of $1 bln tax for PhonePe shifting base to India - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Nandan Mandayam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N) has already paid the Indian government most of the nearly $1 billion in tax after digital payments company PhonePe shifted its headquarters from Singapore to India, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Bloomberg News previously reported that Walmart and other PhonePe investors would have to pay nearly $1 billion after its domicile change. Tiger Global, an existing PhonePe investor, was not required to pay the tax, according to the source. While PhonePe declined to comment, Walmart did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Moneycontrol reported last year PhonePe was raising funds at a $12 billion valuation in a round led by General Atlantic.

☆ India's Mamaearth parent files for IPO - draft prospectus
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Indian skincare startup Mamaearth's products are on display for sale at a wholesale shop in Ahmedabad, India, June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Amit DaveBENGALURU, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Parent of Indian personal care products startup Mamaearth, Honasa Consumer Ltd, on Thursday filed for an initial public offering (IPO), according to draft papers submitted to the market regulator. The Sequoia- and Sofina-backed company's IPO will comprise of a fresh issue of shares worth 4 billion rupees ($48.30 million) and an offer for sale of 46.8 million shares. Reuters had reported in June that Mamaearth was in talks to raise at least $300 million for the IPO scheduled for 2023. Honasa said it would use about 1.86 billion rupees from the IPO for advertising expenses.

☆ India panel recommends digital competition act to rein in Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - An Indian parliamentary panel on Thursday recommended the government enact a digital competition act to regulate anti-competitive business practices by Big Tech companies on its platforms. Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google and Apple (AAPL.O) have in the past faced scrutiny from the country's competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), over alleged abuse of the application market. Companies including Facebook (META.O), Twitter and Google (GOOGL.O) have for years been concerned with many regulations India has proposed for the technology sector, with companies complaining about excessive compliance burdens. Amazon, Google, Meta, Twitter and Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment. A specialised digital markets unit should be established within the competition watchdog, the panel said, adding that competitive behaviour of big tech companies needs to be monitored in advance and not after markets become monopolised.

But many are delaying IPOs amid a stock market rout that has raised concerns over frothy tech valuations. In a statement to Reuters, Snapdeal said it has decided to withdraw the IPO prospectus "considering the prevailing market conditions", without elaborating. It adding that Snapdeal may reconsider an IPO in future depending on its need for capital and market conditions. The change of Snapdeal's plans comes as tech stocks in India that listed in recent years face investors' wrath. In August, TPG and Prosus-funded Indian online pharmcy PharmEasy withdrew papers for its $760 million IPO, while Warburg Pincus-backed seller of wireless earphones, boAT Lifestyle, also withdrew its papers in October.

☆ Amazon Is Signaling its India Fatigue
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In September 2014, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos stood atop a truck in Bengaluru, dressed in traditional attire, flashing a $2 billion check: a brash demonstration of the American giant’s ambitions in India. Less than a decade later, with many more billions invested and Indian regulators increasingly taking a dim view of U.S. big tech, Amazon might be losing patience with the South Asian nation. Over the last week, Amazon has said it would close three ventures in India: food delivery, its education tech business and a wholesale e-commerce website. Closing these small subsidiaries doesn’t at first glance look like a major defeat. But the exit from wholesale e-commerce is important: It means that for now at least, Amazon is conceding to Walmart-backed Flipkart and Reliance in “kirana-tech.”

☆ Amazon remains a show-me stock but we're encouraged by some positive Wall Street commentary
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Amazon (AMZN) received several mentions Tuesday from Wall Street analysts covering a range of topics. While including commentary on Alphabet and Meta from the note as a point of reference, we're mostly focusing on Amazon. From a top-down view, Morgan Stanley maintained that Amazon remains "strategically positioned" to take market share in e-commerce and enterprise spend "through/post downturn." From a bottom-up view, the analysts acknowledged that Amazon, along with other large-cap tech names, is finally taking its medicine. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

☆ Walmart to raise up to $3 billion for Flipkart - Mint
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 25 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N)-backed Flipkart is considering raising $2 billion to $3 billion at a valuation of more than $40 billion to expand its product range in India and challenge rivals, the Mint reported on Tuesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Flipkart is currently valued at over $40 billion and may dilute around 7% for raising as much as $3 billion, the Mint report said. Last year, Flipkart raised $3.6 billion in a funding round, giving it a valuation of $37.6 billion. Flipkart and Walmart did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. In April, Reuters reported that Indian e-commerce company Flipkart has internally raised its IPO valuation target by around a third to $60 billion to $70 billion and plans a U.S. listing in 2023 instead of this year.

☆ Meta-Backed Meesho Is Beating Amazon, Walmart in Race for Indian Shoppers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Newley Purnell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An upstart e-commerce service is winning more new shoppers in India than Amazon Inc. and Walmart Flipkart, posing a challenge to the U.S. retailing titans, which have plowed billions of dollars into the world’s biggest untapped digital market. Bengaluru-based Meesho is leading the burgeoning social-commerce sector, allowing users to sell items by sharing product listings with friends via Meta Platforms Inc.’s popular WhatsApp messaging service, along with Facebook and Instagram. Meta is also an investor in Meesho, with an undisclosed stake.

☆ India festival spending booms despite inflation worries, global slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The sales would include nearly $15.2 billion offline sales, compared to about $8.5 billion in 2019, according to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). read moreBut economists said the sense in India was that inflation has peaked while economic activity was picking up. The bump in consumer demand is expected to support economic growth of around 6.5% in the fiscal year ending March 2023, the highest among the world's major economies. Credit demand increases Credit demand increasesThe retail boom is also a boon for the government - goods and services tax collections, a barometer of consumer demand, rose 26% year-on-year in September, data showed. "After two consecutive downbeat festive seasons, consumer sentiment and spending appear to have rebounded this year... which may boost economic growth in the current quarter, but may not sustain thereafter."

☆ Toshiba India to supply batteries for EVage's electric vans
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The Indian unit of Japan's Toshiba (6502.T) will supply its SCiB rechargeable lithium-ion cells for 10,000 electric delivery vans made by Indian start-up EVage, the companies said on Tuesday. This is the first deployment of lithium titanium oxide (LTO) cells into commercial delivery vans and will help EVage vehicles with battery safety and performance, the companies said. Chandigarh-based EVage had raised $28 million from U.S.-based venture capital firm RedBlue Capital earlier this year, to help complete its factory in northern India and begin delivery of vehicles. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterLike electric vehicle (EV) makers Rivian in the United States and Arrival in the UK, EVage is betting on delivery companies globally to shift to cleaner mobility. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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