The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Google parent Alphabet's unit, Shoreline International Holdings LLC, to acquire a stake in Walmart group firm Flipkart. The proposed transaction includes Shoreline International Holdings LLC's investment in Flipkart Private Limited through the subscription of shares, as well as an agreement between an Alphabet affiliate and Flipkart's subsidiary to provide certain services.

Shoreline International Holding is a completely owned subsidiary of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc. CCI stated in its order that it is a holding company that does not own or run any Google products or services.

The CCI order regarding Alphabet's involvement in Flipkart states that "Flipkart is a subsidiary of Walmart Inc and ultimately belongs to the Walmart Group."

According to the CCI order, the company's primary operation is wholesale cash and carry of goods, as well as providing marketplace-based e-commerce platforms to allow trade between clients and sellers in India.

Google's stake in Flipkart is part of a nearly $1 billion funding round that the business completed in May of this year. This includes $350 million from Alphabet subsidiary Google. Flipkart received investment worth $35-36 billion. The acquisition had been pending approval since May of this year. Flipkart stated at the time that the transaction requires both parties' regulatory and customary approvals.

Walmart, which owns 85 percent of Flipkart, has contributed $600 million in the fundraising effort, which began in 2023.

In its order, the CCI stated that Google's stake in Flipkart was "an extremely small and non-controlling acquisition of shareholding" and that the two parties will continue to operate independently following the deal.

"Nonetheless, if the Hon'ble Commission were to assess competitive effects, its assessment should only focus on the markets that are directly implicated by the proposed transaction i.e., the market for cloud services in India," according to the ruling.