New Delhi, May 9: Sachin Bansal, the co-founder of online retail giant Flipkart, has sold off his entire stake to Walmart US Dollar 1 billion. Bansal owned 5.5 per cent shares in the e-commerce firm. Although the deal has compounded Bansal's wealth by another billion, he would have to pay 20 per cent as capital gains tax.

Earlier in the day, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son announced the takeover of Flipkart by Walmart, with the latter now owning up to 77 per cent shares in the company.

The acquisition, amounting to $16 billion, is the costliest ever in the e-commerce sector. Analysts claim Walmart is eyeing to tap the massive potential in Indian online shopping sector, whose market is still considered to be at a nascent stage.

The deal between Flipkart and Walmart is in offing since September 2016, when the two sides had first initiated talks. The US-based supermarket chain was first inclined towards grabbing a minority stake in the firm. However, the top rung leadership of Walmart decided to takeover a larger share, in order to make a dent in the Indian market.

A statement issued by Walmart following the takeover said it would "maintain Flipkart's core values and entrepreneurial spirit, while ensuring it has strategic and competitive advantages".

While Walmart will now own 77 per cent stakes in Flipkart, the remainder of the 23 per cent would continue to remain with the minority shareholders, including the company's co-founder Binny Bansal, and the two multinationals - Tencent Holdings and Tiger Globals - who will remain part of the Board.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 09, 2018 08:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).