E-commerce firm ShopClues valued at $1.1 billion in new funding

(Reuters) - E-commerce startup ShopClues.com raised funds in a new round that values the company at more than $1.1 billion, propelling it into the growing ranks of Indian unicorns.

ShopClues did not disclose the amount, but local media reports said the company had raised as much as $140 million.

The company said it expects the funding will be the last round before it becomes profitable and an eventual initial public offering in 2017.

ShopClues, founded in 2011, is targeting profitability in the first half of 2017.

The Series E funding round is being led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, while existing investors including Tiger Global Management and Nexus Venture Partners participated, the company said on Tuesday.

The company's gross merchandise volumes (GMV), a measure of value of goods and services sold, has grown over four times since January 2015.

The e-commerce market in India is expected to grow to $220 billion in the value of goods sold by 2025, up from an expected $11 billion in 2015, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a recent report.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)