Amazon rival Flipkart secures India's largest ever private investment from Softbank

Japanese tech giant SoftBank has finally secured investment in Indian e-commerce company Flipkart, with the rumoured amount in the region of $2.5bn according to India's Economic Times.

If true, it would mean the largest ever private investment into India, beating out the previous funding round by Flipkart in April in which eBay, Microsoft and Tencent all participated.

The investment from SoftBank's Vision Fund sees Flipkart boost its balance sheet according to the company itself, stating: "After this financing round, Flipkart will have in excess of $4 billion of cash on its balance sheet."

"This deal is monumental and is recognition of India’s unparalleled potential to become a leader in technology and e-commerce on a massive scale," commented Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, co-founders of Flipkart.

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"We welcome Vision Fund and we will continue to build our business with a focus on serving the needs of all Indians, and driving the next phase of technology adoption in India."

Having failed to secure some of Flipkart last month when its bid to acquire Snapdeal fell apart, SoftBank has now got its hands on the Amazon rival.

Combating Jeff Bezos' new Indian arm will be a tough ask especially after the American promised extra funding in addition to the $5bn already pledged, but the boosted bank account will certainly be a welcome new weapon for Flipkart.

Masayoshi Son, Founder and Chairman & CEO of SoftBank, said: "We want to support innovative companies that are clear winners in India because they are best positioned to leverage technology and help people lead better lives.

"As the pioneers in Indian e-commerce, Flipkart is doing that every day."