一群 Flipkart 的前高管正敦促其母公司沃尔玛（Walmart Inc.）回购他们的股票期权，希望在美资零售商权衡包括印度电商运营商单独上市在内的各种选择时能够趁机套现。
A group of former Flipkart executives is urging parent Walmart Inc. to buy out their stock options, seeking to cash in while the US retailer weighs options including a separate listing for the India e-commerce operator.
由于 Flipkart 的首次公开募股（IPO）时间表遥遥无期，这八位前 C 级高管及高级管理人员表示，沃尔玛收购他们的股份将使他们能够将持股变现。据彭博新闻社看到的一封信件显示，这些前高管向沃尔玛董事会提出了这一诉求，《经济时报》此前曾对此进行过报道。
With no visibility regarding the timing of any Flipkart initial public offering, the group of eight former C-suite and senior executives said a purchase of their shares by Walmart would allow them to liquidate their holdings. The former executives appealed to Walmart’s board in a letter seen by Bloomberg News and earlier reported by the Economic Times.
Flipkart 是印度领先的电商企业，多年来一直在为上市做准备，包括在今年将其注册地从新加坡迁至印度，并计划启动银行竞标 IPO 承办权的流程。然而，据知情人士透露，由于没有明确的上市时间表，这些计划此后已被推迟。
Flipkart, the e-commerce leader in India, has been preparing for a stock market debut for some years, including by shifting its incorporation to India from Singapore this year and planning to start the process for banks to pitch for its IPO. Yet those plans have since been deferred with no clear timeline for a listing, according to people familiar with the matter.
“我们中的许多人在公司早期更具不确定性的年份加入了公司，当时这些期权的未来价值还远不确定。我们接受了与股权激励相关的风险和机遇，并在离开公司很久之后继续持有我们的权益，”前高管们在信中表示。“因此，我们请求沃尔玛为所有持有已归属期权的符合条件的前员工提供一个完整的退出机会。”这些前员工表示，在某些情况下，他们持有股票期权的时间长达 15 年。该群体称，Flipkart 的现员工在今年获得了出售股票期权的机会。
“Many of us joined the company during its earlier, more uncertain years, when the future value of these options was far from certain. We accepted the risk and opportunity associated with equity compensation and continued to hold our interests long after leaving the organisation,” the former executives said in the letter. “We therefore request that Walmart gives a complete exit opportunity to all eligible former employees holding vested options.”The ex-employees said they’ve held the stock options for as many as 15 years in some cases. Current Flipkart employees were offered the opportunity this year to sell stock options, the group said.
Flipkart 于 2007 年由两位前亚马逊（Amazon.com Inc.）工程师萨钦·班萨尔（Sachin Bansal）和比尼·班萨尔（Binny Bansal，两人无亲属关系）在班加罗尔创立。就像亚马逊一样，他们最初通过网上销售图书起家，随后业务拓展至电子产品和智能手机等价格更高的商品。
Flipkart was founded in Bangalore in 2007 by two former Amazon.com Inc. engineers, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal (who are not related). Just like Amazon, they began by selling books online before expanding to more expensive products such as electronics and smartphones.
2018年，沃尔玛以160亿美元收购了该公司的大部分股权——这是其有史以来最大的一笔交易，也将与亚马逊争夺在线零售霸权的激烈战火烧到了印度。萨钦（Sachin）将自己的全部股份卖给沃尔玛并离职。宾尼（Binny）也在几个月内退场，并在2023年之前卖掉了剩余股份。
In 2018, Walmart acquired a controlling stake in the company for $16 billion — its biggest-ever deal, bringing its high-stakes battle for online retail supremacy with Amazon to India. Sachin sold off his entire stake to Walmart and left. Binny too exited within months, and sold off his remaining shares by 2023.
Flipkart曾表示，其首要任务是服务客户，首次公开募股（IPO）是公司的目标。
Flipkart has said that its priority is to serve customers, and that an IPO is a target for the company.
Flipkart与沃尔玛上个月在一份联合声明中表示：“IPO仍然是我们战略规划中的重要部分，我们将在时机成熟时推进。通过专注于当前的准备工作，我们可以确保在准备好公开上市时，能够展现出明显的运营和财务实力。”
“An IPO remains an active part of our strategic roadmap, and we will move forward when the timing is right,” Flipkart and Walmart said in a joint statement last month. “By focusing on readiness today, we can ensure that when we are ready to make our public debut, we do so from a position of clear operational and financial strength.”