Amazon may buy 10% in Future Retail for $600 mn, expand offline retail biz

Here are some of the details of Amazon-Future Retail deal as reported by FactorDaily.com :

1. Future Retail's valuation: The deal values Kishore Biyani's Future Retail, the company that owns brick-and-mortar retail outlets like Big Bazaar and Easy Day, at about $6 billion (Rs 40,872 crore).

2. Deal value: Amazon may spend around $500-$600 million to acquire a 10 per cent stake in Future Retail, whose market cap is around $4 billion.

3. Coping up with the competition: After Walmart's backdoor entry into India's e-retail sector through Flipkart, competition is expected to get fierce in the country's e-retail space. To expand its base in the Indian consumer market, Amazon is looking to enhance its business profile through the offline retail channel.

4. Amazon in India: According to a Citi Research report, Indian e-commerce sector is expected to be worth $202 billion in the next 10 years. Amazon is expected to be a major part of this growth, with a 35 per cent market share. The current valuation of Amazon India is pegged at $16 billion.

5. Amazon's previous investments in offline retail: Amazon had previously picked up a 5 per cent stake in Shoppers Stop for $26.35 million (Rs 179.25 crore).

6. Other buyers in the race: Amazon is not the only one eying a stake in Future Retail. Jack Ma's Alibaba and Walmart have also shown interest in it. Discussions are underway and any decision is yet to be taken.