Walmart eyeing investment in Tata's proposed 'Super App'; reports cite eyewatering $25 Bn

Walmart Inc is planning to make an investment of up to $25 billion in Tata Group’s new "super app”, reports speculated on Tuesday. As per the ongoing discussions, the super app could be launched as a joint venture between Tata and Walmart. The deal would influence the collaborations between Tata's e-commerce business and Walmart's e-commerce unit, Flipkart.

Apart from this, Tata Group is also in talks with potential investors about acquiring a stake in its new digital platform. Walmart’s investment could touch $25 billion for a large stake in the proposed super app that will be launched under a Tata Sons unit, reports stated. $25 billion is, of course, an outrageous amount of funding, likely unprecedented for a service which is not even out even if it is from the stable of a conglomerate as large and pervasive as the Tata Group.

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The super app, which is scheduled to be released in India in December or January, will combine Tata's consumer business under one channel, offering a wide range of products in the retail space. These products include Titan watches and jewellery and fashion retail chain Trent.

Shares of Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors and Tata Steel have gained over 1% each, with TCS the top boost on the Nifty 50 index. If the Walmart deal is successful, it will top it will become the largest investor in Flipkart, for which the US-based company paid $16 billion for a 66% stake. Walmart has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs as the banker for the proposed deal.

The news comes as Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries raised over $20 billion from investors including Facebook, Alphabet's Google, KKR & Co and Silver Lake Partners in its digital business Jio platform

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