Friday, April 19

Tag: SoftBank Group

Uber Execs Travel The Globe To Soothe Regulators’ Concerns After Controversies
News

Uber Execs Travel The Globe To Soothe Regulators’ Concerns After Controversies

Uber executives are traveling the globe to reassure regulators that the company is changing the way it does business, after a string of controversies hurt the ride-hailing firm’s reputation, its Asian head said on Monday. These comments come on the heels of Uber’s disclosure last week that it covered up a 2016 data breach which compromised data of some 57 million customers and drivers, prompting governments around the world to launch probes into the breach and Uber’s handling of the matter. Authorities in Britain and the United States, two top Uber markets, as well as Australia and the Philippines have said they would investigate the company’s response to the data breach. “We’ve learned very quickly and we’re tacking very quickly,” Brooks Entwistle, Uber Technologies Inc’s recentl...
Uber Told SoftBank About Data Breach Before Telling Public
News

Uber Told SoftBank About Data Breach Before Telling Public

Uber Technologies Inc said on Thursday that it discussed a massive data breach with potential investor SoftBank Group Corp ahead of going public with details of the incident on Tuesday. The ride-hailing service is trying to complete a deal in which the Japanese company would invest as much as $10 billion for at least 14 percent of Uber, mostly by buying out existing shareholders. “We informed SoftBank that we were investigating a data breach, consistent with our duty to disclose to a potential investor, even though our information at the time was preliminary and incomplete,” Uber said in a statement. ”We also made clear that our forensic investigation was ongoing,“ Uber said. ”Once our internal inquiry concluded and we had a more complete understanding of the facts, we disclosed to ...
Uber Hacking Cover-Up Collides With SoftBank Deal, Triggers Probes Worldwide
USA

Uber Hacking Cover-Up Collides With SoftBank Deal, Triggers Probes Worldwide

A newspaper advertisement for an Uber Technologies Inc stock sale was juxtaposed on Wednesday with a report that the ride-service provider had covered up a data hack – something of a metaphor for Uber, a company with boundless investor interest, but whose penchant for rule-breaking has led to a series of scandals. The stock sale advertised in the New York Times will enable Uber investors to sell their shares to Japanese investor SoftBank, a critical deal for the company whose problems included building software to spy on competitors and to evade regulators and being investigated in Asia for paying bribes. Uber on Tuesday said that it had paid hackers $100,000 to destroy data on more than 57 million customers and drivers that was stolen from the company – and decided under the previou...
SoftBank Funding May Prompt Uber To Review Game Plan In Southeast Asia
BUSINESS

SoftBank Funding May Prompt Uber To Review Game Plan In Southeast Asia

SoftBank Group’s multi-billion dollar investment in Uber Technologies Inc opens up the possibility of combining it with other ride-hailing assets the Japanese group owns in a consolidation of a rapidly growing business across Asia, industry sources say. Uber Technologies Inc said on Nov. 12 that a planned deal with a consortium led by SoftBank and Dragoneer Investment Group was moving forward. The consortium plans to inject $1 billion to $1.25 billion into Uber, and buy up to 17 percent of existing shares in a secondary transaction. SoftBank has also been a big investor in Uber’s rivals across Asia, including Southeast Asia’s Grab, China’s DiDi Chuxing, and India’s Ola, as it works to achieve founder Masayoshi Son’s vision of a future driven by artificial intelligence and interconnec...
Ecommerce Giant Alibaba Sees India As ‘Very Important’
News

Ecommerce Giant Alibaba Sees India As ‘Very Important’

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]hinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's CEO Daniel Zhang said that their company sees India as a "very important" market, on occasion of the 11/11 Global Shopping Festival. “Globalisation is one of our key strategies for Alibaba. As part of this strategy, India is a very important topic. India is a very important market for us to look at,” said Daniel Zhang. “Before entering any new market, we ask ourselves how we can help the local market. For a market like India, the key aspect of our strategy is to help the local enterprises grow,” he added. It's biggest bet in India, which costed them an investment of $1.4 billion in the payments wallet, is something the company is "happy" about. Also Recommended Uber Locks On Multibillion Dollar Deal With Japanese SoftBan...
Uber Locks On Multibillion Dollar Deal With Japanese SoftBank
USA

Uber Locks On Multibillion Dollar Deal With Japanese SoftBank

[dropcap]J[/dropcap]apanese multinational telecommunications and Internet corporation SoftBank Group has reached a multibillion-dollar deal with San Francisco based Uber Inc, it confirmed in a statement. Although the details of the deal have not been yet disclosed, but as per the reports, the deal could be worth up to $10 billion of Uber's stocks. It is also estimated that this deal would be a resolver of legal battles between Uber's former CEO Travis Kalanick and prominent shareholders. Venture capital firm Benchmark, an early investor with a board seat in the ride-services company, and Kalanick have reached an agreement over terms of the SoftBank investment. “We’ve entered into an agreement with a consortium led by SoftBank and Dragoneer on a potential investment,” an Uber spokesm...
SoftBank To ‘Outperform’ And Its Shares Could Rally 36% Soon: Report
ANALYSIS, BUSINESS

SoftBank To ‘Outperform’ And Its Shares Could Rally 36% Soon: Report

Chris Lane thinks investors haven't realised what Masayoshi Son is trying to do at SoftBank Group Corp. The Sanford C. Bernstein analyst just initiated coverage of the Japanese company with an “outperform” rating and a forecast that shares could rally 36% over the next year. Investors still see SoftBank as primarily a telecommunications company, he says, even though its core business is investing in technology. There are similarities to Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the US company led by Warren Buffett, he explains. While Berkshire uses cash from its insurance business to invest in railroads, ice cream shops and Coca-Cola, SoftBank taps cash from its telecoms operations to back startups in ride-hailing, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and robots. Yet SoftBank trades at a discount of m...
Ola Confirms $1.1 Bn Fund Raise From Tencent Holdings
FUNDING

Ola Confirms $1.1 Bn Fund Raise From Tencent Holdings

One of India's unicorn, Ola, operated by ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd has confirmed that it has closed a $1.1 billion funding from Tencent Holdings, a leading Chinese internet company. The round also saw participation from its existing investor- SoftBank Group and other new US-based financial investors. Ola also said that it is in advanced talks with existing and another investor to raise additional $1 billion, thus rounding off what may turn out to be a $2 billion funding round. After a billion scale funding received by Flipkart and Paytm, Ola is the third one to receive such massive funding this year. Flipkart leads them by having raised at least $2.8 billion  in two separate tranches from SoftBank, Tencent, eBay and Microsoft, followed by Paytm which raised $1.4 billion from SoftBank....
Ola Raises $2 Bn From SoftBank Group And Tencent Holdings
FUNDING

Ola Raises $2 Bn From SoftBank Group And Tencent Holdings

Another Indian Unicorn saw $2 billion fund raising on Monday. Ola- India's ride hailing company raises $2 billion from SoftBank Group Corp and Tencent Holdings Ltd, another high profile funding in this year after Flipkart which competes with Amazon. Although as per the Bloomberg's report the amount is not fixed for now and can change in the process. However as per The Economic Times Tencent has finalized an investment of $400 million in Ola, valuing the company over $3.8 billion. The paperwork from both the companies has been finalized and awaits approval from CCI. This funding will impact its rival Uber's position in India, on the one end where it is facing licence ban in London and multiple allegations. Other backers in the ride-hailing startup’s latest financing round included ...
WeWork Bags $4.4 Bn Investment From SoftBank Group And Vision Fund
FUNDING

WeWork Bags $4.4 Bn Investment From SoftBank Group And Vision Fund

After having invested multibillion dollars in companies as diverse as the graphics chip maker Nvidia, an artificial intelligence software maker and an indoor farming start-up, SoftBank has chosen WeWork, a fast growing co-working spaces startup. This investment will accelerate WeWork’s ability to connect more people to WeWork's global community, which currently stands at approximately 150,000 members, as well as further expand WeWork’s physical presence across the globe. “Masayoshi Son is a visionary business leader and we are humbled by this strong endorsement of our mission and purpose,” said Adam Neumann, Co-Founder and CEO of WeWork. “This support from SoftBank and the Vision Fund will provide even more opportunities for creators as we set out to humanize the way people work and li...
WeWork Launches Its China Unit, Backed By Hony, SoftBank
CHINA, News

WeWork Launches Its China Unit, Backed By Hony, SoftBank

Co-working space WeWork is all set to launch its Chinese unit after it raised $500 million from Hony Capital and SoftBankGroup, one of China's largest private-equity firms. WeWork will tap into booming demand for shared office space in the world's second-largest economy. With the funds raised, it will expand its services to at least 5 other locations in the next 12 months. Currently it is available in Beijing and Shanghai. State-owned real estate developer Greenland Group and hospitality company Jin Jiang International - parent of Hong Kong-listed Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Group - will also invest in the local unit,said  WeWork co-founder and CEO Adam Neumann. "By creating local entities we allow ourselves to take local management, give them local equity, incentivize t...