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Saudi Arabia, SoftBank Plan $100 Billion Tech Fund

14Oct By reutersNo Comments

FUNDING

Saudi Arabia, SoftBank Plan $100 Billion Tech Fund

Saudi Arabia and Japan's SoftBank Group said they will create a technology investment fund that could grow as large as $100 billion, aiming to create one of the world's largest private equity funds. The plan is part of a series of dramatic business initiatives launched by Riyadh this year as Saudi Arabia, its economy hurt by low oil prices, deploys huge financial reserves in an effort to move into non-oil industries. SoftBank's founder and chairman Masayoshi Son, who has built his company into a $68 billion telecommunications and tech investment behemoth from a $50,000 start-up, has been seeking to expand in new areas. The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia's top sovereign wealth fund, is set to be the lead investment partner and may invest up to $45 billion over the next ...

20Sep By reutersNo Comments

FUNDING

Ride-hailing App Grab Raises $750M in Funding Led By SoftBank

Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab said it raised $750 million in a funding round led by investor SoftBank Group, helping it build a warchest to solidify its leading position in the region and head off competition from Uber. Southeast Asia is fast becoming a key battleground for ride-hailing firms thanks to a burgeoning middle class as well as a youthful, Internet-savvy demographic. Grab's announcement comes a few weeks after Uber sold its China operations to bigger domestic rival Didi, an existing Grab investor, and analysts have said Uber may focus its efforts and money elsewhere, such as in Southeast Asia. The company is now valued at over $3 billion, a source familiar with the matter said. Its total capital position had increased to over $1 billion, the company said in a s...

Ola Shutting Down TaxiForSure, To Integrate Hundreds

19Aug By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Ola Shutting Down TaxiForSure, To Integrate Hundreds

ANI- Taxi aggregator Ola, which acquired rival TaxiForSure a little over a year ago in a USD 200 million (roughly Rs. 1,240 crores) deal is now reportedly shutting down TaxiForSure as a separate offering, laid off 700 employees and integrating its fleet a report stated here today. "The TaxiForSure (TFS) value proposition as an economy brand for customers has been seamlessly integrated onto the Ola platform with the launch and rapid adoption of Ola Micro," Ola said in a statement. The development comes at a time when the SoftBank-backed aggregator is looking to reduce its cash burn in comparison to rival aggregator Uber. "TFS has contributed immensely towards Ola Micro's success within a short span of time. Ola Micro has expanded to over 90 cities across India and accounts for the larges...

SoftBank to Buy UK Chip Designer ARM in $32 Billion Cash Deal

18Jul By reutersNo Comments

ACQUISITION

SoftBank to Buy UK Chip Designer ARM in $32 Billion Cash Deal

SoftBank Group Corp has agreed to buy UK chip designer ARM Holdings PLC in a 24.3 billion pound ($32.2 billion) deal, the two companies said on Monday, in an ambitious bet on mobile internet that will transform the Japanese tech group. ARM, the most valuable tech company listed in London by market value, is a major presence in mobile processing, with its processor and graphics technology used by Samsung, Huawei and Apple in their in-house designed microchips. The Cambridge-based group also stands to be central to the tech industry's shift to the 'internet of things' - a network of devices, vehicles and building sensors that collect and exchange data - a focus for SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son. Monday's deal, Softbank's largest to date, marks a departure for the Japanese group, wh...

Indian Mobile Advertising Firm InMobi Pay $950k Fine For Tracking Locations of Its US Consumers

23Jun By NitishNo Comments

News

Indian Mobile Advertising Firm InMobi Pay $950k Fine For Tracking Locations of Its US Consumers

In a report, Us based FTC ordered InMobi, SoftBank-backed Indian mobile advertising firm to pay $950,000 civil penalties for tracking locations of "hundreds of millions of consumers - including children - without their knowledge or consent" to serve their geo-targeted advertising. InMobi is subject to a $4 million penalty but the agency suspended the fine to $950,000 "based on the company's financial condition". This settlement comes at a time when InMobi is struggling to raise funds. In its 17 page report, FTC said, "InMobi created a database built on information collected from consumers who allowed the company access to their geolocation information, combining that data with the wireless networks they were near to document the physical location of wireless networks themselves. They w...

Ken Miyauchi Will Replace Nikesh Arora as Softbank President & COO

22Jun By NitishNo Comments

News

Ken Miyauchi Will Replace Nikesh Arora as Softbank President & COO

SoftBank Group Corp said Wednesday that Ken Miyauchi, head of the group's Japanese telecommunications operations, would become president and chief operating officer to replace Nikesh Arora. Arora, the former Google executive handpicked by the SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son as his successor, has abruptly quit as president after it became clear that Son wanted to remain at the helm longer than first planned. The 48-year-old former Chief Business Officer at Google decided to call it a day as his 58-year-old boss Son said he was planning to quit at the age of 60 but felt he was “still a bit too young”. The development interestingly came just a day after Arora getting a clean-chit from a special committee set up by SoftBank to look into the allegations against him from some shareholder...

Softbank Chairman Nikesh Arora Quits , #Nexit Trends on Twitter

21Jun By NitishNo Comments

News

Softbank Chairman Nikesh Arora Quits , #Nexit Trends on Twitter

In line with trending terms like "Brexit" and "Rexit", now Twitterati have coined a new expression "Nexit" after India-born Nikesh Arora announced his surprise resignation as President and COO at SoftBank. For the past several days, two words Brexit and Rexit have been trending. Brexit in short stands for Britains possible exit from the European Union, while Rexit word came up after RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan decided against seeking a second term. On Twitter, Aroras surprise exit was being referred as #Nexit, in line with the trending terms -- #Rexit (Rajan deciding not to take a second term) and #Brexit (Britains possible exit from the EU). India-born Nikesh Arora, President and COO at Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, today said he is stepping down from his role as Masayoshi ...

Alibaba Group Will Purchase Its Own Share From SoftBank Group

2Jun By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Alibaba Group Will Purchase Its Own Share From SoftBank Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) today announced the terms of its previously announced purchase of Alibaba Group ordinary shares from SoftBank Group. Alibaba Group has agreed to purchase 27,027,027 Alibaba ordinary shares from SoftBank Group at US$74.00 per share for an aggregate of US$2 billion. Members of the Alibaba Partnership, acting collectively, have also agreed to purchase 5,405,405 Alibaba ordinary shares from SoftBank Group at the same price per share for an aggregate of US$400 million. Alibaba Group has agreed to purchase 27,027,027 Alibaba ordinary shares from SoftBank Group at US$74.00 per share for an aggregate of US$2 billion. Members of the Alibaba Partnership, acting collectively, have also agreed to purchase 5,405,405 Alibaba ordinary shares from SoftBank ...

Softbank Sold $8 Billion Shares of Alibaba To Repay The Debt

2Jun By AdityaNo Comments

News

Softbank Sold $8 Billion Shares of Alibaba To Repay The Debt

SoftBank Group said on Tuesday it would sell at least $7.9 billion of shares in Alibaba to cut the Japanese company's debt. It said it would remain Alibaba's largest shareholder after the sale. Singapore state funds bought $1 billion of shares in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd as part of an $8.9 billion sale by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, Alibaba's biggest shareholder, the company said on Wednesday. Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd, and state investor Temasek Holdings each purchased $500 million of Alibaba shares at $74.00 apiece through subsidiaries, Alibaba said, offering details of the SoftBank sale announced on Tuesday. GIC and Temasek confirmed the transactions but declined to provide further comment. Temasek is an existing investor in Alibab...

Housing.com Target $10 mn Revenue in 2016

30May By PriyankaNo Comments

News

Housing.com Target $10 mn Revenue in 2016

Housing.com , which has raised over $ 100 million from various investors including Softbank and has restructured the business, today said it expects $ 10 million revenue in the current fiscal. Last November, it had decided to monetize its products as part of the restructuring exercise. "Housing.com is receiving an overwhelming response to the products it launched in January with revenue growing 200 percent month-on-month and the company on track to achieve $10 million in revenue this fiscal year," it said in a statement. After the company decided to focus its business on home buying and selling, Housing.com said it has started a series of digital advertising products for developers and brokers to provide maximum customer exposure and return on investment for their home sal...

Nikesh Arora Received $73M Pay Cheque From Softbank in 2016

26May By AdityaNo Comments

News

Nikesh Arora Received $73M Pay Cheque From Softbank in 2016

Nikesh Arora, a Ex-Googler and the president and COO of SoftBank Group, received heafty pay check of $73 million (8.04 billion yen) in 2016. Arora's compensation includes $14.2 million (1.56 billion) paid by other SoftBank units. After Google, Arora had joined SoftBank as its vice-chairman and CEO of SB Group US (previously SoftBank Internet and Media Inc) in September 2014. In 2014-15, Arora had received a $135 million pay package including signing bonus during joining the company in September and end of March 2015. Nikesh Arora count among top paid executives in the world. During his tenure, Arora has led SoftBank's investments into Snapdeal, Ola, Housing, Oyo Rooms and Grofers. He also faces several criticism from a group of SoftBank Group investors, which alleged conflict of ...

SoftBank’s Profit Drops, But India Investments Show Traction

11May By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

BUSINESS

SoftBank’s Profit Drops, But India Investments Show Traction

Japanese telecom giant SoftBank today said its investee companies in India - Snapdeal, Oyo Rooms, Ola and Hike - saw good traction even though its own profits dropped 27 percent for the fiscal ended March. SoftBank's sales for 2015-16 totalled 9.15 trillion yen ($84 billion), up nearly 8 percent from the previous financial year. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said the Indian companies in which SoftBank has invested are growing, which include games, online messenger, and retail businesses. According to the investor presentation, e-commerce major Snapdeal saw the value of merchandise (GMV) sold through its platform rise 90 per cent in 2015-16 over the previous fiscal. "Repeat purchase rates increasing...Investing in supply chain technology... (Freecharge is) the fastest-growing di...