Flipkart Raises $160 Million

By R. Jai Krishna

NEW DELHI--Indian online retailer Flipkart.com said Wednesday it raised $160 million from five investors, completing a $360 million fundraising program that began in July.

In the latest round, Flipkart.com raised funds from Dragoneer Investment Group, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Belgium-based investment firm Sofina and Vulcan Capital along with one of its existing investors, hedge fund Tiger Global Management LLC.

In July, it raised $200 million from four investors to expand its operations as competition heats up in the country's growing ecommerce market.

Tiger Global Management, venture-capital firm Accel Partners, South Africa-based media firm Naspers and U.S. investment adviser Iconiq Capital LLC made the investment in the July round, the Bangalore-based company said.

The funds will be used to spruce up Flipkart's technology capabilities, logistics chain and staff strength, co-founder and Chief Executive Sachin Bansal said.

Flipkart, founded in 2007, is an online retailer that sells products from books to cellphones.

The funding comes at a time when Internet commerce in India is expected to grow exponentially. The country has already outgrown Brazil and Russia to become the fifth largest ecommerce market in the world, behind China, Japan, Germany and the U.S.

The online shopping market is expected to grow 33% to 630 billion rupees ($10.2 billion) in 2013 from about 473 billion rupees in 2012, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India, a New Delhi-based trade body.

About 16% of 2012 sales came from products and services such as electronics, jewelry, home and kitchen products and consumer durables--the space in which Flipkart operates in.

Write to R. Jai Krishna at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires