The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday approved global retail giant Walmart's acquisition of majority stake in e-commerce major Flipkart.

In a tweet today, the CCI said that it has approved proposed acquisition of Flipkart Private Limited by Wal-Mart International Holdings, Inc.

@CCI_India approves proposed acquisition of Flipkart Private Limited by Wal-Mart International Holdings, Inc

— CCI (@CCI_India) August 8, 2018

Walmart is looking to acquire 77 percent of the homegrown e-commerce firm for $16 billion.

According to the notice submitted to the CCI by Wal-Mart International Holdings, the proposed transaction will be effected pursuant to the share purchase agreement and the share issuance and acquisition agreement entered into on May 9 by and among Walmart's subsidiary and Flipkart.

Mergers and acquisitions beyond a certain threshold require the approval of the CCI.

Earlier, retailers have joined hands to approach CCI against Walmart-Flipkart deal as they apprehend that it would lead to massive job loss and be a "nightmare for retail trade" of the country.

Traders body CAIT in a strongly worded statement today alleged ruling party BJP of bias towards multi-national companies and deviating from its commitment made in 2014 election manifesto.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said that it will move fair trade regulator CCI to file objections on the proposed Walmart-Flipkart deal, claiming that the agreement would lead to an uneven playing field and massive job losses.

On the other hand, an online sellers industry body moved the CCI against Flipkart India Pvt Ltd, a wholesale company, for allegedly abusing its dominant position on Flipkarts online marketplace.

First Published:Aug 8, 2018 7:38 PM IST