EBay is changing its India strategy.
The company said Wednesday it will relaunch eBay India and sell its holdings in Flipkart now that Walmart announced a plan to buy a majority stakein the Indian e-commerce company for $16 billion. EBay had sold its operations in the country to Flipkart last year and had taken a minority stake in the online retailer.
In its announcement, eBay said it will unwind its commercial agreements with Flipkart and terminate Flipkart’s license to use the brand as part of a $1.1 billion deal.
In relaunching eBay India, the company will focus on cross-border trade. CEO Devin Wenig said in a tweet that eBay will focus on bringing imported inventory to India and opening up the worlds’ market to Indian merchants.
“We plan to relaunch eBay India with a differentiated offer to focus initially on the cross-border trade opportunity, which we believe is significant,” eBay said in a statement. “We believe there is huge growth potential for e-commerce in India and significant opportunity for multiple players to succeed in India’s diverse, domestic market.”
India is an emerging battleground for retailers. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2016 announced plans for his company to invest $3 billion in India. Amazon reportedly made its own bid for a majority stake in Flipkart.
Shares of eBay gained 1 percent Wednesday. They’ve increased 14 percent over the past year.
