Having raised hundreds of millions of dollars, Flipkart, one of the country’s biggest E-Commerce players, is facing a markdown in its valuation as it looks to raise more money, reports TechCrunch. TechCrunch has learned from sources that Flipkart is looking to raise up to $1 billion in funding to grow its business and shore up against competition from local rival Snapdeal and global giant Amazon.

Valued at over $15 billion last when it raised $700 million, Flipkart might have to lower its price, with some investors willing to put more money into to the company, but at a valuation below $15 billion.

“The funding is now delayed and should take another 3-4 months. A downround is certain,” said a source.

According to the sources, one potential investor is Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The company — already a backer of rival Snapdeal — reportedly met with Flipkart management in Hong Kong to discuss investing at less than $10 billion. Other sources say a round would not be this low, and more likely in the range of $11 billion to $14 billion, as per the report. 

Another investor that has been eyeing up a stake in Flipkart is the Fosun Group, sometimes referred to as the Berkshire Hathaway of China. It’s not clear what valuation Fosun has discussed with Flipkart, adds the report.

Neither company responded to requests for comment in connection with this story, and Flipkart declined to comment.

Coincidentally, Alibaba this week finalized a $3 billion loan, which could point to the company making more investments or acquisitions in the near future.

Flipkart has 46 million users and lists some 30 million products on its platform, making it one of the biggest e-commerce companies in India. But there are also challenges. One issue for Flipkart — which has raised over $3 billion to date — has been that some existing investors have revised their valuations of the e-commerce giant. In February, it emerged that Morgan Stanley marked down its stake in the company, valuing it at $58.9 million. This was 27% below the price of its last valuation, giving the whole of Flipkart an implied valuation of $11 billion.

With Indian e-commerce market to be worth $55 billion by 2018, up from $14 billion in 2015, there is no doubt to the long-term potential. But investors have become wary of bloated valuations and there is pressure on these capital intensive businesses to tighten up their operations for the next phase of growth, concludes the report.