THE WHAT? Walmart has increased its majority stake in India’s e-commerce giant Flipkart, leading a $1.2 billion financing round, with the round valuing the company at $24.9 billion, according to TechCrunch. 

THE DETAILS The move follows Walmart’s $16 billion buyout for a 77 percent stake in the company in 2017 and further evolves the competition in the Indian e-commerce market. 

Judith McKenna, president and CEO of Walmart International, said, “Flipkart continues to leverage its culture of innovation to accelerate growth and enable millions of customers, sellers, merchants, and small businesses to prosper and be a part of India’s digital transformation.”

THE WHY? The financial injection from Walmart is said to allow Flipkart to grow its foothold in the Indian online sphere following the COVID-19 crisis. 

The news comes just days after Jeff Bezos poured $305 million into Amazon’s Indian arm, with tech giants Facebook and Google having recently invested into Telecomms competitor Jio Platforms’ e-commerce venture JioMart.