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Hyundai Motor acquire 80% stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group

14Dec By PriyankaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Hyundai Motor acquire 80% stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group

SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 14, 2020-- Hyundai Motor Group will acquire 80% stake in Boston Dynamics in a deal that values the mobile robot firm at $1.1 billion. Financial terms were not disclosed. Hyundai Motor Group will hold an approximately 80% stake in Boston Dynamics and SoftBank, through one of its affiliates, will retain an approximately 20% stake in Boston Dynamics after the closing of the transaction. The acquisition will mark another major step for Hyundai Motor Group toward its strategic transformation into a Smart Mobility Solution Provider including in fields such as autonomous driving technology, connectivity, eco-friendly vehicles, smart factories, advanced materials, artificial intelligence (AI), and robots. Boston Dynamics produces highly capable mobile robots with ...

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 ...

SoftBank Group to Close $1.5 billion Investment in a Cab Aggregator

22Dec By Gauri SinghNo Comments

BUSINESS

SoftBank Group to Close $1.5 billion Investment in a Cab Aggregator

SoftBank Group is in advanced talks to invest $1.5 billion in Grab, three times a previously expected $500 million, as Southeast Asia's biggest ride-hailing firm looks to expand, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Six-year old cab aggregator Grab has so far raised over $6.5 billion, led by SoftBank, Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing and Toyota. After a fund raising in August, Grab was valued at around $11 billion. SoftBank first bought a stake worth $250 million in Grab in 2014 just as Grab began competing with Uber Technologies in Southeast Asia. Its latest funding in the ride-hailing firm will be made from its Vision Fund, which after raising more than $93 billion last year is the world's largest private-equity fund. A source stated that SoftBank is expected to finalise it...

Paytm To Reach Japan in Collaboration With Softbank Group

23Jul By Gauri SinghNo Comments

News

Paytm To Reach Japan in Collaboration With Softbank Group

With Paytm showing a commendable growth in every aspect, the digital payments giant is planning to launch its operations in Japan in collaboration with Masayoshi Son’s Softbank Group. This event is expected to take place by the end of 2018. People familiar with the matter stated that Son is trying to mark his footprints in this sector as well. The service, as a collaboration with Indian digital payments giant Paytm, will make aggressive use of artificial intelligence for mobile payments and other financial services as well. A number of Paytm employees are working in Tokyo on getting the service up and running. Son, who created the world’s largest technology investment fund, is moving towards a crowded field. Japan’s biggest instant-messaging service ‘Line’ and flea-market app ‘Mer...

Former SoftBank COO Nikesh Arora Appointed as the CEO of Palo Alto

2Jun By Gauri SinghNo Comments

News

Former SoftBank COO Nikesh Arora Appointed as the CEO of Palo Alto

Nikesh Arora, an Indian businessman who was the president and COO of SoftBank Group, has now been appointed as the CEO and chairman of 'Palo Alto Networks', the global cybersecurity leader. Arora has replaced Mark McLaughlin who has been the head for nearly seven years and has played a major role in its difficult stage of growth. The past CEO will now become the board's vice chairman. He said he wanted to step down as CEO so that he could spend more time with his family. McLaughlin, in this context, expressed,"Over the course of several quarters, I have been discussing succession planning with the Board and I couldn't be more pleased that we have found a leader in Nikesh." Nikesh Arora has worked with SoftBank as well as with Google. He served at SoftBank from 2014 until 2016, when he...

Walmart Approaches CCI For Approval Over Flipkart Acquisition

20May By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

News

Walmart Approaches CCI For Approval Over Flipkart Acquisition

After acquiring Indian e-commerce unicorn Flipkart, US giant Walmart Inc. has finally sought approval of India's Anti-Trust Regulator for its mega $16 billion acquisition. According to a Regulatory Filing sent to Competition Commission of India (CCI), Walmart has said that its buyout of Flipkart does not result in competition concerns as the broader retail market in India remains unaffected by the deal. Walmart has reported CCI that Flipkart is a Singapore based entity and the deal has been done through its subsidiary Walmart International Holdings. Moreover, Since Flipkart India is primarily engaged in the business of wholesale cash and carry goods, its acquisition will only affect B2B markets, Walmart added. Notably, Walmart has been facing resistance by tough regulations that p...

SoftBank Is In Talks With Zomato Over A Possible Investment

17May By Lavina TolaniNo Comments

BUSINESS

SoftBank Is In Talks With Zomato Over A Possible Investment

The Japanese Internet Conglomerate, SoftBank Group Corp is reportedly in talks over a possible investment in food delivery and online restaurant company Zomato as told by sources familiar with the matter. The possibility of Softbank's future investment in Zomato has been speculating in the market since six months back when the Japanese giant first held conversations exploring a possible funding of up to $200-250 million in Bengaluru-based Swiggy. "SoftBank which has already backed Flipkart now eyes to make a niche for itself in the food delivery market said one of the sources. The development comes as SoftBank is reportedly yet to decide on selling its more than 20% stake in Flipkart to US retailer Walmart. The Report says that SoftBank is currently discussing business metrics across...

Ola Now Plans To Expand To Australian Market

30Jan By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

News

Ola Now Plans To Expand To Australian Market

Indian cab aggregator Ola is set to go international with the launch of its operations in Australia in the coming weeks, a move that will further intensify its battle with US-based rival Uber. The SoftBank-backed firm is now onboarding private hire vehicle owners onto its platform in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, Ola said in a statement. Ola plans to launch its services in Australia in early 2018, it added. It will share further details of the commencement of commercial operations -- subject to necessary regulatory approvals -- later. "We are very excited about launching Ola in Australia and see immense potential for the ride-sharing ecosystem which embraces new technology and innovation," Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said. He added that the company aims to "create...

After A Failed Attempt At Ola Cafe, Ola Acquires Foodpanda In A Reply To UberEATS

19Dec By RishabhNo Comments

ACQUISITION

After A Failed Attempt At Ola Cafe, Ola Acquires Foodpanda In A Reply To UberEATS

Indian cab-aggregator unicorn Ola has acquired Foodpand India, run by Germany-based Delivery Hero Group. Run by ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ola will also be investing around $200 million in Foodpanda's Indian business over an undisclosed period of time. "Foodpanda India will benefit from Ola's scale and efficiencies as a platform, also having leveraged learnings from Delivery Hero's global best practices. Ola and Delivery Hero will continue to collaborate on building the online food delivery ecosystem in India," Ola said in a statement announcing the acquisition. After the acquisition goes through, Saurabh Kochhar, current CEO of Foodpanda India will be succeeded by Ola's founding partner Pranay Jivrajka, Kochhar has decided to move on and pursue other opportunities. This acquisition is...

Flipkart Completed Buyback Share Programme Worth $100M, With 3,000 Participants

13Dec By RishabhNo Comments

BUSINESS, INDIA

Flipkart Completed Buyback Share Programme Worth $100M, With 3,000 Participants

Indian online e-commerce giant Flipkart has recently completed its $100 million re-purchase of employee stock options (ESOPs), marking it the largest share buyback programme in Indian startup history, a financial daily reported. In a release on Wednesday, Flipkart said that over 3,000 existing and former employees of Flipkart, PhonePe, Myntra, and Jabong had participated in this programme, Mint reported. “Employees are our biggest source of strength, without whom Flipkart couldn’t have built the e-commerce industry in India. As an organisation, we believe they should be equal partners in Flipkart’s success. This ESOP repurchase programme is an extension of that culture, and a token of thanks for the dedication and hard work they have put in over the years. We’re delighted to be setti...

30Nov By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

SoftBank Group To Acquire More Stakes In Flipkart, Valuing It At $10B

Japanese multinational telecommunications corporation SoftBank Group has offered to buy shares from investors and former and existing employees of Indian e-commerce website Flipkart, valuing it around $9-10 billion. SoftBank has offered to buy Flipkart shares at $85-89 per share, Mint reported. The price range values Flipkart slightly lower than the pre-money valuation it clinched in two funding rounds of $1.4 billion each, one from SoftBank in August and the other from eBay Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Tencent Holdings Ltd in April. SoftBank's move is a part of its August commitment to pick up additional stakes in the e-commerce giant. Out of the total $2.5 billion investment commitment, SoftBank will use around $1.2-1.4 billion in buying out shares of other investors and employees....

SoftBank In Talks To Invest $500M In Paytm Mall

28Nov By AdityaNo Comments

FUNDING

SoftBank In Talks To Invest $500M In Paytm Mall

After investing in Indian e-commerce majors Flipkart and Snapdeal, Japanese multinational conglomerate SoftBank Group is now set to invest in another Indian e-commerce space Paytm Mall. It is estimated that Paytm Mall may receive a funding around $500-600 millions in a fresh round. As per the reports, SoftBank will put around $300 million into the e-commerce venture operated by Vijay Shekhar Sharma's Paytm E-commerce Pvt Ltd. Paytm Mall has already received funding from Chinese e-tailing company Alibaba, which now holds a majority stake in the company. Also, SoftBank is one of the investors of One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm wallet and holds around 20 percent. The telecom conglomerate already holds majority stakes in Snapdeal, which it tried to merge with Flipkar...