News Briefs(10-5-2018)

Walmart acquiring Flipkart

TOKYO, May 9: US retail giant Walmart Inc is acquiring Indian e-commerce player Flipkart, the chief executive of one of Flipkart's biggest shareholders, SoftBank Group, said on Wednesday. Walmart would invest $10 billion-$12 billion in Flipkart for a controlling stake of more than 51 per cent at a valuation of about $20 billion in what is the US retailer's biggest acquisition of a business, Reuters has reported earlier. "Last night, Japan time, it (Flipkart) reached final agreement that Walmart is purchasing Flipkart," Masayoshi Son said on a SoftBank earnings conference call on Wednesday. Buying a stake in Flipkart, which sells everything from soaps to smartphones and from books to clothes, gives Walmart access to the vast Indian e-commerce market that, according to Morgan Stanley, will potentially be worth an annual $200 billion in a decade. —Reuters

Vodafone buys Liberty's European assets

LONDON, May 9: British telecoms giant Vodafone announced on Wednesday an 18.4-billion-euro deal to buy parts of Liberty Global's operations that will make it Europe's largest cable and broadband operator. The deal for assets of the US group, worth $21.9 billion or £16.1-billion, will see Vodafone become the second biggest player in eurozone powerhouse Germany, while it will acquire operations also in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, it said in a statement.

—AFP