Tug-of-war over Flipkart begins as Amazon jumps in to counter Walmart's bid! Here's who could become 'king'

In a stunning development, global e-commerce behemoth Amazon has reportedly jumped in and made a formal offer to acquire a majority stake in its Bengaluru-based rival and Indian unicorn Flipkart.

As per CNBC TV-18, the Jeff Bezos-led company, which has battled the Sachin and Binny Bansal(not related)-founded company for supremacy in the Indian online retail market, wants to purchase a 60% stake in Flipkart.

(Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, co-founders of Flipkart) 

Amazon's offer now means that Flipkart's shareholders, including Japan-based telecommunications and investment major SoftBank and longtime investor Tiger Global, have a choice on their hands, as they were previously said to have been considering a bid from American brick-and-mortar retail behemoth Walmart.

Walmart was said to have been interested in acquiring a 55% stake in Flipkart at a $20-$22 billion valuation. As reported by Mint, Flipkart's older investors such as Tiger Global were in favour of accepting the bid whereas Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank, which is a comparatively new investor, was said to have been not entirely in favour, as it had long-term plans.

(Amazon founder Jeff Bezos) 

Walmart had also reportedly intended to retain the services of the Bansals, as well as Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy who was formerly a top executive at Tiger Global. 

If Amazon does manage to succeed in its bid, it would become by far the biggest online marketplace in India. It is important to note here that Flipkart also owns Myntra and Jabong. However, if Flipkart lands up in Walmart's hands, it would accentuate the e-commerce battle. From a consumer standpoint, the latter option would be preferable as competition in e-commerce, particularly when moneybags companies are involved, has almost always ended up in the 'customer becoming king' on account of the massive discounts and offers that the space is well known for. And there is always the possibility that either bid could be aimed at hiking the acquisition price, which would mean, among other things, an exit bonanza for Flipkart's investors. 

(SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son)