Flipkart’s co-founder Sachin Bansal may have to put down his papers altogether, if Walmart’s impending takeover of Flipkart fructifies in the coming weeks. Sources close to the ongoing mega deal have revealed that the world’s largest retail giant does not want Sachin Bansal to be part of the Flipkart’s 10 member board of director team.
However, Walmart reportedly has no problems with Binny Bansal (Flipkart’s other co-founder) and current CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy to be part of the company’s board. In fact, if sources are to be believed, Walmart wants these two people to spearhead the company in future.
Walmart’s support for Krishnamurthy is least surprising, considering the fact that he has managed to turn around Flipkart with impressive performance during his two-year tenure.
So why has Walmart turned against Sachin Bhansal?
There are conflicting reports as to why the retail giant is adamant about Sachin Bhansal’s exit. One report claims that Sachin Bansal’s idea of pushing Flipkart to consider Amazon’s takeover offer may have proved to be his undoing. On other hand, there are also reports claiming that Walmart does not want assertive member like Sachin Bhansal to be part of company’s board.
Sachin Bhansal’s exit will lead to dilution of his 5.5% stake, which will help him to pocket nearly $1 billion, if the Bengaluru based company is sold at an estimated valuation of $20 billion. The American retail giant’s takeover may also lead to partial or complete dilution of other high profile stake holders like SoftBank and Tiger Global.
Walmart’s deal will mark the end of Bansal Era
Walmart’s takeover will bring the curtains down on Bansal Era. Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal started Flipkart in October 2007 in corner of their home in Bengaluru. The two IIT graduates were then probably unaware that they had sowed geniuses of a company that in few years would become India’s biggest internet company.
As Flipkart’s phenomena grew, so did the phenomena of Bansals. Bansals, who are actually not brothers nor they share any blood relation, became the poster boy of India’s startup success story. They literally became the demigod for the new generation entrepreneurs.
However, the Bansal’s dream journey was cut short after Amazon entered into India e-commerce fray and now with Walmart’s impending takeover, Bansal’s dream journey has truly come to halt for once and all. However, few can argue Bansal’s have left behind a legacy that will be remembered for years to come.
