As the e-commerce giant helmed by CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy prepares for one of the most anxiously awaited listings in India Inc., Walmart-owned Flipkart has started exploratory talks with a few investment banks, many industry insiders told Moneycontrol.
According to one of the previously mentioned people, “Flipkart has started selectively working with a few firms, including Goldman Sachs, The formal pitches have not yet begun, but Kotak Mahindra Capital, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and others will evaluate the viability of the proposed initial public offer (IPO).
“The transaction kick-off and the final syndicate of advisers is still some time away, and a definitive decision on the road ahead will be decided only after an approval from the Flipkart board,” a second source told Moneycontrol.
A third party claims that “these are exploratory conversations where the demand levels, kind of investors, and appetite for such a major deal would be reviewed.” Without a doubt, the wheels have begun to move within.
“It is too early to talk about the proposed amount of the IPO and the date of the launch, which may be by 2026 end or early 2027, but a large part of the issue is expected to be primary in nature,” said a fourth person with knowledge of the company’s preparations.
All four of the aforementioned individuals agreed to remain anonymous when speaking with Moneycontrol.
As of the publication of this article, Walmart and Flipkart had not responded to emails.
Goldman Sachs declined to comment when asked. The other investment banks were unable to respond right away. As soon as we have information from the firms, we will update this article.
The US retail behemoth Walmart, which in early February became the first traditional retailer to reach a $1 trillion market valuation, owns a sizable majority stake in Flipkart. The company’s cap table also features well-known brands like Softbank, Google, and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
A significant step toward a domestic IPO was taken in December when Moneycontrol revealed that the company had obtained crucial approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to relocate its holding company domicile from Singapore to India.
The approval came after Flipkart revealed that it was attempting to move its legal basis to India in order to better match its corporate structure with its mostly local core operations and business footprint.
Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who is concentrating on creating an AI-first Flipkart, stated in an interview in the February 20 issue of Forbes India, “We are not constructing this firm only for an IPO, and it is not a destination for me personally.”
I see it this way: Do we have a future-proof company and are we prepared for the obligations and complexity of stakeholders once we go public? What follows an IPO is more significant, in my opinion. We need a solid leadership team and a stable business that is not reliant on any certain consumer segment, category, or individual in order to achieve that.
Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, Cleartrip, and super.money are all part of the Flipkart Group.
According to its website, the company was founded in 2007 and has made it possible for millions of small enterprises, merchants, and sellers to take part in India’s digital commerce revolution. Over 150 million products in over 80 categories are available on Flipkart’s marketplace, which has over 500 million registered users and over 1.4 million vendors, including Shopsy retailers.
With revenues of Rs 83,105 crore in 2025, Flipkart was recently listed as one of the top companies in the first edition of “JM Financial Hurun India Unlisted Gems 2026,” a carefully chosen list of high-potential businesses with the size and performance attributes compatible with going public.
By the way, another division of Walmart is looking to list in India. Market regulator Sebi approved PhonePe, a Walmart-owned digital payments and financial services company, for an initial public offering (IPO) in January.
Moneycontrol was the first to reveal earlier on September 24 that PhonePe has submitted draft documents through the confidential route in order to raise around Rs 12,000 crore ($1.35 billion) through a pure OFS, or offer for sale.
According to the source, Walmart, Tiger Global, and Microsoft are the three shareholders hoping to take part in the offer for sale, which will entail a combined dilution of about 10% stake.
