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Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Resign from Softbank board

18May By reutersNo Comments

News

Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Resign from Softbank board

SoftBank Group Corp said that Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will resign from its board, in the latest departure by a high-profile ally of CEO Masayoshi Son. The departure of Ma, who retired as Alibaba's executive chairman in September, comes as he pulls back from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy. SoftBank will propose three new appointments to the board, including group Chief Financial Officer Yoshimoto Goto, at its annual general meeting on June 25. The number of board members will expand to 13. SoftBank will also propose the election of Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of chip design software firm Cadence Design Systems who is also chairman of venture capital firm Walden International, and Yuko Kawamoto, a professor at Waseda Business School as outside directors. Kawamoto will become...

Oracle wins cloud computing deal with Zoom as video calls surge

28Apr By reutersNo Comments

BUSINESS

Oracle wins cloud computing deal with Zoom as video calls surge

(Reuters), 29th April 2020 - Zoom Video Communications Inc said on Tuesday it has started using Oracle Corp’s cloud computing service to help handle the surge in online video call volumes brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic. As corporations and schools shift to remote work and billions of people subject to stay-at-home orders seek ways to remain connected, Zoom has seen daily meeting participants rocket from 10 million in December to 300 million. But it has also experienced a backlash as the increased use exposed privacy and security flaws. Zoom set out a 90-day plan to fix the security issues, but in the meantime, the thirty-fold jump in traffic has required more computing power. The deal is a big win for Oracle, which wants to catch up with rivals such as Amazon.com an...

Samsung ends Mobile Phone production in China

12Apr By reutersNo Comments

BUSINESS

Samsung ends Mobile Phone production in China

SEOUL (Reuters)- Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has ended mobile telephone production in China, it said on Wednesday, hurt by intensifying competition from domestic rivals in the world’s biggest smartphone market. The shutdown of Samsung’s last China phone factory comes after it cut production at the plant in the southern city of Huizhou in June and suspended another factory late last year, underscoring stiff competition in the country. The South Korean tech giant’s ceased phone production in China follows other manufacturers shifting production from China due to rising labor costs and the economic slowdown. Sony also said it was closing its Beijing smartphone plant and would only make smartphones in Thailand. But Apple still makes major products in China. Samsung’s share of th...

WeWork troubles deepen as SoftBank pulls its $3 billion tender offer

4Apr By reutersNo Comments

BUSINESS

WeWork troubles deepen as SoftBank pulls its $3 billion tender offer

Softbank said it has terminated a $3 billion tender offer for additional WeWork shares agreed last year with shareholders, drawing threats of legal action and plunging the floundering office space company further into crisis. The tech investment giant said in a statement that given its duty to its shareholders it could no longer proceed with the deal, citing criminal and civil probes into the startup, WeWork’s failure to restructure a joint venture in China and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. A special committee of WeWork’s board said it was disappointed and is considering “all of its legal options, including litigation.” SoftBank’s decision to rescind the offer means the Japanese firm is no longer obligated to proceed with a further $1.1 billion in debt financing for WeW...

Tencent-backed Yuanfudao near to close new Fundraising at $7.5 billion Valuation

20Mar By reutersNo Comments

FUNDING

Tencent-backed Yuanfudao near to close new Fundraising at $7.5 billion Valuation

BEIJING, 20/03/2020 -- Chinese online education platform Yuanfudao, which is backed by tech giant Tencent Holdings, is close to completing a financing round that would value it at around $7.5 billion, two people familiar with the matter said. The talks make Yuanfudao, which was founded in 2012 and offers online courses and homework plans to students, a rare bright spot of activity in the deal-making world, which has largely dried up as the coronavirus pandemic has suspended most travel and business meetings. Yuanfudao’s focus on online learning puts it in one of the few sectors that have seen a surge in investor interest as the coronavirus and school closures force students in China to attend classes via the internet. The round of financing is led by Tencent Holdings and private ...

Xerox considers $27 billion Takeover offer of HP

7Nov By reutersNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Xerox considers $27 billion Takeover offer of HP

Printer maker Xerox Holdings Corp has made a roughly $27 billion cash-and-stock offer for personal computer maker HP Inc, a company more than three times its size. HP confirmed the bid, but declined to disclose the offer price. The companies have explored a combination from time to time, and HP will consider Xerox’s latest proposal “with an eye towards what is in the best interest of all our shareholders,” HP said in a statement. Five days ago Enrique Lores, former president of HP’s imaging and printing business, officially took over as its chief executive. Xerox’s stock has rallied under CEO John Visentin, who took over last year and resolved a long-running dispute with joint venture partner Fujifilm Holdings Corp. Xerox said it would sell its 25% stake in the joint venture ...

17Oct By reutersNo Comments

CHINA

Tesla gets Approval to Start Manufacturing in China

SHANGHAI, 17th Oct 2019- China’s industry ministry said that the Tesla Inc was added to a government list of approved automotive manufacturers, as it granted the electric-vehicle maker a certificate it needs to start production in the country. The list was published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. This means “the green light is fully given to Tesla for production in China,” said Yale Zhang, head of the Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight. Tesla can start production any time, he said Tesla did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment. The $2 billion factory it is building in the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai is its first car manufacturing site overseas. Reuters reported earlier this month that Tesla plans to start produc...

TikTok owner ByteDance Revenue Jumps over $7 billion in First Quarter

30Sep By reutersNo Comments

BUSINESS

TikTok owner ByteDance Revenue Jumps over $7 billion in First Quarter

ByteDance, which was loss-making in the first-half, also posted a profit in June and was confident of making a profit in the second half of the year, one of the people said, declining to be identified as the company has not made a public announcement. Robust growth has led the Beijing-based startup to revise its revenue target for 2019 to 120 billion yuan from an earlier goal set late last year of 100 billion yuan, a second person said. Earnings figures for last year were not immediately available. According to online tech news outlet The Information, ByteDance revenue for the whole of 2018 was $7.2 billion. ByteDance declined to comment. The seven-year-old startup, which separate sources have said was valued at $78 billion late last year, also owns Chinese news aggregat...

SoftBank Turns against WeWork’s parent CEO Neumann

23Sep By reutersNo Comments

BUSINESS

SoftBank Turns against WeWork’s parent CEO Neumann

(Reuters) - SoftBank Group, the biggest investor in Wework co-working is exploring ways to replace Adam Neumann as chief executive, four people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The rare showdown between SoftBank and one of its biggest investments comes after We Company postponed its initial public offering (IPO) last week, following pushback from perspective investors, not just over its widening losses, but also over Neumann’s unusually firm grip on the company. This was a blow for SoftBank, which was hoping for We Company’s IPO to bolster its profits as it seeks to woo investors for its second $108 billion Vision Fund. It invested in We Company at a $47 billion valuation in January, yet stock market investor skepticism led to the startup considering a potential...

Most SoftBank Vision Fund investors want to join second fund: Masayoshi Son

19Jun By reutersNo Comments

Entrepreneurs Talk

Most SoftBank Vision Fund investors want to join second fund: Masayoshi Son

Most investors in SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund want to join the group's forthcoming second fund, founder and Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said on Wednesday, adding discussions would begin soon. The entrepreneur said in May a second fund would launch "soon", with SoftBank likely to be the only investor initially. Raising further funds is essential if Son is to extend his spending spree on late-stage startups around the world. Investors in the first fund include the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, Apple Inc and Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd. The Vision Fund will ramp up its employee numbers to 1,000 from 400 currently, Son said at the group's annual general meeting. The fund's head, Rajeev Misra, said he sees i...

Alibaba Planning a Second Listing in Hong Kong to Raise $20 Billion

28May By reutersNo Comments

CHINA, Market

Alibaba Planning a Second Listing in Hong Kong to Raise $20 Billion

Reuters- Alibaba is considering raising as much as $20 billion through a secondary listing in Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, lining up a second blockbuster deal following its 2014 record $25 billion floats in New York. The deal, which would be the sixth-biggest follow-on share sale ever, would give Alibaba a war chest to keep investing in technology - a priority for China as growth flags and as the world's second-largest economy faces an escalating trade spat with the United States. The e-commerce giant is working with financial advisers on the offering and is aiming to file an application confidentially in Hong Kong as early as the second half of 2019, three people said on condition of anonymity as the plans are not public yet. They cautioned that many ...

Edgewell to buy shaving startup Harry’s for $1.37 bln

11May By reutersNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Edgewell to buy shaving startup Harry’s for $1.37 bln

May 9 (Reuters)- Edgewell Personal Care Co, the owner of Schick and Wilkinson razor brands, plans to make an offer to buy U.S.-based shaving startup Harry's for $1.37 billion in a cash-and-stock deal, the New York Times reported on Thursday. Harry's, founded by Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider, is one of the many shaving startups vying for market share in the growing male grooming products arena. The market is currently dominated by Procter & Gamble Co's Gillette and Unilever Plc. The startup sells razors, shaving creams, lotions, soaps and other grooming products embossed with their quirky hairy elephant logo. Founders Katz-Mayfield and Raider will run Edgewell's operations in the United States if the deal goes through, according to the newspaper report. Edgewell Chief ...