SoftBank Group Corp. (TSE:9984) is in talks with Flipkart Internet Private Limited to invest $700 million in the internet retailer, three years after it sold its entire stake in the company to Walmart Inc., two people aware of the development said. The proposed investment in Flipkart from SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 is part of a $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion funding round, the people said on condition of anonymity. The transaction is expected to value Flipkart at $28 billion, one of the people said, adding that the deal is expected to close in 3-4 months. The transaction will precede a proposed listing of the Indian e-commerce giant, slated to be in the next 12-18 months, the first person said. The investors signing up for the ongoing round expect Flipkart’s valuation to rise to around $35 billion to $40 billion by then, with online sales surging because of the pandemic, the second person said. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Canadian pension fund CPPIB are also in talks to invest in Flipkart, the second person said. This was first reported by The Economic Times on 11 May. Flipkart is unlikely to go for another funding round before its IPO, the people cited above said. Investment banks JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are managing the transaction for Flipkart. SoftBank and JP Morgan declined to comment. Flipkart, Goldman Sachs Ventures, Prosus, GIC, and CPPIB did not immediately respond to a request for comment on June 03, 2021 evening.