Walmart-owned e-commerce major Flipkart has received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to shift its holding company’s domicile from Singapore to India, a key step as the company moves closer to a potential domestic initial public offering.
The approval comes months after Flipkart said it was working towards relocating its legal base to India to align its corporate structure with its largely domestic operations and business footprint. The company had earlier indicated that the move was part of efforts to simplify its structure ahead of a public listing, without committing to a specific IPO timeline.
In an order dated December 12, the principal bench of the NCLT sanctioned Flipkart’s proposed “Scheme of Merger by Amalgamation”, noting that there were no impediments to approving the plan after considering the approvals received from shareholders and creditors of the concerned entities.
With the NCLT clearance, Flipkart can now proceed with the remaining legal and regulatory steps required to complete the so-called reverse flip, which involves transferring ownership of the overseas holding company to an Indian entity and consolidating the group structure locally. The development brings the company a step closer to filing its draft IPO papers, potentially in the next calendar year.
As part of the approved scheme, several group entities will be merged into Flipkart Internet Private Limited in phases. Initially, seven transferor companies — including Flipkart Health, Flipkart Marketplace, Myntra Holdings, Flippay and Quickroutes International, among others — will be merged into the transferee entity, subject to approvals from courts in Singapore. Subsequently, Flipkart Private Limited will be merged into Flipkart Internet.
