Hogan Lovells advises PhonePe on its separation of ownership from Flipkart in India

PhonePe India was acquired by Flipkart in 2016. Separating these businesses as distinct entities will provide value and create new opportunities for investors to participate in the Indian tech ecosystem – helping unlock and maximize enterprise value for shareholders of the two companies.

As part of this transaction, existing shareholders of Flipkart and PhonePe, led by Fit Holdings SARL, a subsidiary of Walmart Inc. ("Walmart"), have acquired shares directly in PhonePe India. After the completion of the transaction, Walmart continues to be the majority stakeholder in both companies. 

The Hogan Lovells team was led by Singapore-based partner and Head of Corporate & Finance Asia-Pacific, Stephanie Keen, with support from Sylvia M. Taslim (Counsel, Singapore) and Esther Wong (Associate, Singapore). Paul Randall (Senior Counsel, London), Fiona Bantock (Partner, London) and Callum Fowers (Senior Associate, London) assisted on employment matters while Richard Aftanas (Partner, New York) assisted with the U.S. securities matters.

Lead partner Stephanie Keen, commented: “We are honoured to have had this opportunity to advise on this strategic transaction in India. Our involvement is a testament to the firm’s expertise in the digital commerce market in India. We look forward to continuing to support clients in this fast growing and innovative market.”

Hogan Lovells continues to expand its relationship with PhonePe, Flipkart and Walmart in India, having advised Walmart on Walmart's 2018 acquisition of Flipkart, Flipkart’s fundraising of US$1.2 billion and US$700 million fundraising for PhonePe, and Flipkart on its 2021 US$3.6 billion funding to accelerate the growth of the consumer internet ecosystem in India, which was selected as a winning deal of the year for 2021 in India Business Law Journal (for more details of the awards, please read here).