Flipkart looking to 'Chinese' model of e-commerce growth via acquisitions

From Myntra and Jabong to PhonePe, and now talks with BookMyShow, Swiggy, UrbanClap - Flipkart could be eyeing stakes in or buyouts of smaller peers to grow its own top line

India’s largest home-grown internet company Flipkart is looking at acquiring stakes or buying out smaller peers to grow its own top line, a model perfected by Chinese counterparts Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu.

Flipkart is said to be in talks with multiple firms like online food-ordering and delivery service Swiggy, home services firm Urban Clap, online furniture retailer Urban Ladder, ticket-booking platform BookMyShow and even some financial technology firms, according to a Livemint report on Monday.

These deals seem to be at an exploratory stage, but Flipkart’s intent is increasingly becoming clearer. While investments in some of these firms might have