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Andy Mukherjee

Bezos Vs. Ambani: The Billionaire Bout That Had to Happen

The Amazon founder will be fighting the battle for Indian consumers with one hand tied behind his back.

Don't celebrate too soon, Jeff. This guy means business. — Don't celebrate too soon, Jeff. This guy means business.
Photographer: Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images

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January 22, 2019, 12:00 AM UTC

The battle for the Indian consumer was never going to be an all-American affair.

Walmart Inc.’s splashy acquisition last year of Flipkart Online Services Pvt., the homegrown e-tailer giving Amazon.com Inc. a solid run for its money, might have given the impression of a two-horse race. But as I argued (here and here), billionaire Mukesh Ambani wasn’t going to watch from the sidelines.