Five At Five: Walmart Wins A Majority Stake In Flipkart

Welcome to Five at Five, your late look at some of the freshest payments news of the day. Today’s stories include Walmart’s investment in Indian eCommerce operator Flipkart. Other items offer news about Alibaba’s profit problem, Google I/O, new Groupon deals and how facial recognition fuels competition against Ticketmaster.

Walmart’s $15B Bid Secures Flipkart Buy Against Amazon
The race to win India’s eCommerce power player Flipkart is over and won by Walmart, which won with a $15 billion bid on the firm. The deal will give Walmart a majority stake in the firm, roughly 75 percent of the entire Flipkart group. The final outcome has come as a surprise to many.

Alibaba’s Profit Falls Amid Offline Expansion
As Alibaba looks beyond eCommerce to expand its empire, some investors are getting nervous. Since January, the eCommerce retailer has lost approximately $60 billion in market value, according to a report.

What The World Will Learn From Google I/O
Big news is expected to come from an update on artificial intelligence (AI) out of Google soon, as the firm has spent much of the last 18 months talking up AI’s power to guide the company’s future.

Groupon Rolls Out Restaurant Deals For American Express Members
Groupon has added American Express to its Groupon+ platform to provide consumers with more ways to save money at neighborhood restaurants. The free-to-claim, cash-back deals program is now available in approximately 25 U.S. markets, the company said.

Startup Plans To Take On Ticketmaster With Facial Recognition
According to a report, Rival has raised $33 million from investors, including Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Upfront Ventures. Teams from every major sports league in the U.S. and the English Premier League have signed on as clients, as have their home arenas and stadiums.