Walmart in talks to buy 40% in Flipkart; due diligence to start next week

Flipkart would be valued at more than the $12 billion figure

Walmart Inc is in talks to purchase a stake of more than 40 per cent in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart, a direct challenge to Amazon.com in Asia’s third-largest economy, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. 

In what would be one of its biggest overseas deals, the US retailer is looking at buying new and existing shares in Flipkart and due diligence is likely to begin as early as next week, the sources said. They declined to be named as the talks were private. 

Terms under discussion were not immediately available, but Flipkart would be valued at more