Walmart’s deal to buy India’s Flipkart had many twists and turns, including an assertive challenge from Amazon. This New York Times’DealBook column writes,

By last November, Walmart was ready to discuss a deal. Initially, Walmart was focused on acquiring a minority stake in Flipkart, these people said. But over time, both sides came to realize that Flipkart could better realize its ambitions if Walmart owned a majority stake. From a business perspective, Flipkart would provide a base for e-commerce dominance in India, while Walmart could give a crucial boost in the grocery delivery business.