Monday, December 23

Tag: SoftBank

OYO Narrowed Losses by 27%, Witnessed Seven Times Revenue Growth In 2017
28Dec By NitishNo Comments
BUSINESS

OYO Narrowed Losses by 27%, Witnessed Seven Times Revenue Growth In 2017

Online hotel booking startup OYO has narrowed its losses by 27 per cent to Rs 363.7 crore in 2016-17, mainly on account of a high degree of operating leverage in the business model. The company's losses were at Rs 496.8 crore during FY16, OYO said in a release issued here. OYO has witnessed seven times revenue growth at Rs 125 crore in FY17 compared to Rs 17 crore during 2015-16. The revenue growth has been fueled by more than two times growth in room nights and significant improvement in commissions, the company said. OYO continue to focus on steady business growth by making strategic investments in building capabilities, partner relations and market expansion. "2017 has been a watershed year for us. We steered our growth trajectory by upgrading and bringing beautiful living-s...
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Chinese Ride Sharing Giant DiDi Chuxing Is Coming To North America
8Dec By RishabhNo Comments
USA

Chinese Ride Sharing Giant DiDi Chuxing Is Coming To North America

Beijing, China's ride hailing giant Didi Chuxing is planning to expand its services to expand to Mexico by next year, marking the company's first international expansion move. This also signals a new phase of competition with global ride sharing company Uber, which quit its Chinese business by selling it to Didi in 2016 after lengthy and expensive battle. After Uber, Didi Chuxing is the most valued privately owned firm in the world. Its decision to begin recruiting drivers and offering rides in Mexico will surely be seen as shot across Uber's bow at a time when the company witnessed a series of self-inflicted scandals. Didi right now has no card outside China, but will be launching an app in the Mexico and recruit local drivers. It is unclear which cities Didi will target, althoug...
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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....
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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...
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SoftBank Funding May Prompt Uber To Review Game Plan In Southeast Asia
21Nov By reutersNo Comments
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...
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Paytm To Acquire Little, Nearbuy For $30M
13Nov By PriyankaNo Comments
ACQUISITION

Paytm To Acquire Little, Nearbuy For $30M

One97 Communications owned Paytm is set to acquire two of the most funded deals site- Nearbuy (former Groupon India) and Little for a sum of $30 million TOI reported. SAIF Partners and Singapore's GIC backed Little Internet and Nearbuy, who had together raised more than $80 million capital will be sold for $30 million only, in a cash and stock transaction. Little Internet, which runs the Little app, had in 2015 racked up $50 million and later got on board GIC. Paytm and GIC are its significant shareholders after Tiger Global sold out from the company. While Gurgaon based Nearbuy, which broke off from its parent Groupon India in 2015, had scooped up a $20-million cheque from Sequoia Capital at the time. Also Recommended Uber Locks On Multibillion Dollar Deal With Japanese So...
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Ola Confirms $1.1 Bn Fund Raise From Tencent Holdings
11Oct By RishabhNo Comments
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....
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SoftBank Makes Biggest Ever Investment In Indian Internet Space In Flipkart
10Aug By AdityaNo Comments
FUNDING, News

SoftBank Makes Biggest Ever Investment In Indian Internet Space In Flipkart

Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart has raised a record breaking funding of at least $2.5 billion from SoftBank Vision Fund, making its rival Amazon a huge blow and claiming its dominance in the market. The latest round of funding takes Flipkart’s cash reserves to more than $4 billion. Although, Flipkart didn’t disclose the amount, but said that the SoftBank investment comprises a mix of primary (investment in the company) and secondary capital (purchase of shares from existing shareholders). The amount invested will be somewhere around $2.5 billion in Flipkart, 3 people from the inside told, upon the condition of anonymity. There have been reports about the SoftBank's interest in investing in Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart, after the acquisition of Snapdeal by Flipkart didn't work out....
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Snapdeal 2.0 Gets Backing From Nexus Venture
3Aug By RishabhNo Comments
FUNDING

Snapdeal 2.0 Gets Backing From Nexus Venture

Nexus Venture Partners, an early investor in Snapdeal, has come out in support of the e- commerce firm’s decision to pursue “Snapdeal 2.0” instead of accepting rival Flipkart’s $900-950 million acquisition offer. Nexus Venture Partners is the second investor to come out in support of Snapdeal’s decision, after Kenneth Glass (an early investor in Snapdeal). Earlier this week, Snapdeal had announced that it was terminating all strategic discussions to pursue a new plan of operations that it calls “Snapdeal 2.0”.     Nexus Venture Partners also has a seat on Snapdeal’s board that has representation from SoftBank (2 seats), Kalaari Capital and the two founders—Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal. After the announcement by Snapdeal, there were reports that the decision h...
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Ofo, Bike Sharing Startup To Raise $1 Bn From SoftBank Group
29Jul By reutersNo Comments
FUNDING

Ofo, Bike Sharing Startup To Raise $1 Bn From SoftBank Group

Chinese startup Ofo is in talks to raise $1 billion in a new funding round led by Japan's SoftBank Group, people familiar with the matter said, in what would be the largest fund-raising in the nation's bike-sharing business. Didi Chuxing, China's biggest ride-hailing firm which counts SoftBank as an investor, could join Ofo's new fundraising round，the sources told Reuters. Ofo could reach a valuation of close to $3 billion after the funding, one of the sources said. Ofo is seeking fresh capital less than a month after raising more than $700 million from investors led by Alibaba Group and two others, following rival Mobike, which in June announced a $600 million investment led by Tencent Holdings. The latest Ofo investment plan has not been finalised, the sources said, who declined to ...
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