沃尔玛斥资150亿美元押注印度初创电商Flipkart，印度互联网经济要腾飞？

NEW DELHI—The famously frugal and focused Walmart Inc. is betting $15 billion on a much different kind of company: a sprawling Indian e-commerce startup that has burned through mountains of cash to try to conquer the country’s online shopping market.

以节俭和专一著称的沃尔玛(WalMart Inc., WMT)将斥资150亿美元押注一家业务风格迥异的公司：一家规模庞大的印度电子商务初创企业，该公司为攻克印度在线购物市场已经消耗了大量现金。

The deal for a roughly 75% stake in Flipkart Group is set to be announced as early as this week. If the union works, it could provide India’s leading online seller needed funds and traditional retailing expertise, while Walmart would be well-positioned for e-commerce in the world’s second-most-populous nation.

沃尔玛打算收购Flipkart Group约75%的股份，这宗交易最早将于本周宣布。如果成功结盟，Flipkart这家印度领先的电商企业将获得资金和传统零售专业知识，而沃尔玛在这一全球第二人口大国的在线购物市场也将处于有利地位。

Venture capitalists have long assumed India’s internet economy will soon take off like China’s, and they have pumped money into Flipkart. The Bangalore company has used the funding in part to offer deep discounts to shoppers, subsidize shipping and pay for infrastructure, analysts say.

风险投资家长期以来一直认为，印度互联网经济很快会像中国一样腾飞，为此他们已经向Flipkart进行了注资。分析人士说，总部位于班加罗尔的Flipkart已经利用所获部分资金向购物者提供大幅折扣、补贴运费和支付基础设施费用。

That move came as Amazon.com Inc. challenged Flipkart’s position.

沃尔玛上述举动正值Flipkart的地位受到亚马逊(Amazon.com Inc., AMZN)挑战之际。

Last year, it raised $1.4 billion from Microsoft Corp., eBay Inc. and China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. in an investment that valued the firm at $11.6 billion, down from the $15 billion valuation it received during fundraising in 2015.

去年，微软(Microsoft Corp., MSFT)、eBay Inc.和腾讯控股(Tencent Holdings Ltd., 0700.HK)在Flipkart的一轮融资中投资14亿美元，此次融资对Flipkart的估值为116亿美元，低于2015年时的150亿美元。