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Snapdeal Board To Seek Shareholders View On Flipkart Deal

26Jul By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

News

Snapdeal Board To Seek Shareholders View On Flipkart Deal

Snapdeal will seek views of its shareholders, including Ratan Tata and PremjiInvest, on the proposed USD 900-950 million buyout deal by Flipkart, a source said. The deal is almost through but there are a few areas of concern and the Board wants to seek views and comments from shareholders on the deal, two people aware of the developments said. (more…)

Axis Bank Cracks The Deal To Buy Freecharge From Snapdeal

26Jul By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Axis Bank Cracks The Deal To Buy Freecharge From Snapdeal

India's third largest private sector lender Axis Bank Ltd is all set to buy digital payments platform Freecharge from Snapdeal for amount nearing Rs 400 Cr, a much needed relief for Snapdeal. This payments platform has been seeking a suitable buyer since long, even as its parent company negotiates the terms for its own sale. By this acquisition, Axis Bank will get a popular digital payments platform and access to high-quality tech, which will give it an upper-hand over other banks. Axis Bank and Freecharge are likely to announce the deal this week, two people familiar with the matter said, on condition of anonymity. Paytm was also in the lead to acquire Freecharge but Freecharge chose to go with Axis Bank, due to higher bid. The sale of Freecharge will mark the most stunning co...

Uber’s Rival Grab Set To Dominate In Southeast After Largest Ever Fundraising

24Jul By RishabhNo Comments

FUNDING

Uber’s Rival Grab Set To Dominate In Southeast After Largest Ever Fundraising

The Singapore-based ride-hailing service is getting $2 billion worth of investment from China-based ride-hail player Didi Chuxing and Softbank. The startup also expects to raise an additional $500 million from other investors as part of this round. Provided it closes the additional sum, the company’s valuation would top $6 billion, according to a source familiar with Grab’s fundraising. The $2.5 billion round is reportedly the largest ever single financing round in Southeast Asia and demonstrates just how ferociously the powers that be are battling for ride-hailing dominance in that part of the world. The Singapore-headquartered company says it has a Southeast Asia market share of 95 percent in third-party taxi-hailing and 71 percent in private vehicle hailing. It also provides car...

Why This Agriculture Startup Raised Largest-ever Funding From Softbank Vision Fund

20Jul By AdityaNo Comments

News

Why This Agriculture Startup Raised Largest-ever Funding From Softbank Vision Fund

Plenty, the leading field-scale indoor farming company remaking the global food system, announced today a $200 million Series B funding round led by the SoftBank Vision Fund, making it the largest agriculture technology investment in history. Other participants in the round include existing backers such as DCM Ventures and funds that invest on behalf of Alphabet’s Eric Schmidt and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. (more…)

SoftBank Plans To Invest In DIY Robots Startup Makebloc

13Jul By AnkitaNo Comments

FUNDING

SoftBank Plans To Invest In DIY Robots Startup Makebloc

SoftBank Group Corp. is in talks to invest in a STEM education and robotic startup Makebloc as per the sources said. Makeblock is looking to raise about $60 million in a series C round by the end of the year 2017 with a target to double its valuation to $400 M. The figures are preliminary and could vary depending on negotiations. Moreover, no official statement has been released by any of the company. Makebloc had earlier raised a funding of $30 million in Series B round at a $200 million valuation led by Evolution Media China and Shenzhen Capital Group Co., Ltd. Founded in 2011(as a company in 2013) by aircraft-design major Jasen Wang, Makeblock is a leading DIY robotics construction and programming learning platform for makers, hobbyists, STEM learners, and educators. Makeblock...

Paytm Likely To Pick Up Stakes In BigBasket For $200 Million

12Jul By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

News

Paytm Likely To Pick Up Stakes In BigBasket For $200 Million

Alibaba and SoftBank-backed Paytm is believed to be in discussions to pick up minority stake in online grocery retailer, BigBasket for about USD 200 million, according to sources. The due diligence is on and the deal could be finalised in the next few weeks, sources privy to the development said. They did not wish to be identified as discussions are still on and the deal has not been signed yet. When contacted Paytm declined to comment, while BigBasket said: "This is completely untrue". With people becoming comfortable buying even milk and bread online, online grocery segment is projected to witness a strong growth over the next few years. According to a report by Franchise India, the online grocery market is expected to be Rs 2.7 billion market by 2018-19. Industry watch...

2Jun By reutersNo Comments

FUNDING

SoftBank Invests in Industrial Software Firm OSIsoft

SoftBank Group Corp said on Wednesday it was taking a significant minority stake in OSIsoft LLC, a privately held maker of industrial software used to manage plants and factories. The world's largest industrial companies, from General Electric Co to Siemens AG, have been incorporating more software into their manufacturing to cut costs and improve their supply chains. SoftBank is buying out venture capital investors KleinerPerkins Caufield & Byers, TCV and Tola Capital, it said in a statement. Japan's Mitsui & Co will remain an investor. The investment is in the "high hundreds of millions" and values OSIsoft at several billion dollars, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity because of the confidential terms. SoftBank and OSIsoft declined to comme...

India-born Rajeev Misra Inducted Into Softbank Board of Directors

27May By AnkitaNo Comments

News

India-born Rajeev Misra Inducted Into Softbank Board of Directors

Japanese conglomerate Softbank today announced induction of India-born Rajeev Misra on its board of directors. The list of new board members includes Misra who is currently serving as chief executive officer of SoftBank Investment Advisers, the firm that will advise USD 100 billion SoftBank Vision Fund that will make investment in technology firms. However, the election of Misra is subject to shareholders approval at Softbanks annual general meeting to be held on June 21. "SoftBank Group Corp (SBG) announces that today it has decided the candidates for the position of directors and audit and supervisory board members as below. The elections are subject to the approval of the 37th annual general meeting of shareholders (the AGM) to be held on June 21, 2017," Softbank said in a stat...

Indian Government in Talks With SoftBank For Funding 2 Lakh e-Buses

27May By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

News

Indian Government in Talks With SoftBank For Funding 2 Lakh e-Buses

To promote electric vehicles on a mass scale, the government is holding initial talks with Japanese investment firm SoftBank for low interest funding of 2 lakh electric buses for public transport, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said here today. India wants to cut down on a ballooning Rs 7 lakh crore crude import bill, the minister said, adding electric buses and vehicles along with ethanol and other green fuel could be the solution. "Promoting electric vehicles is priority of our government. We want electric buses, autorickshaws and other vehicles to ply in the country. We are engaged in initial talks with SoftBank for loans at low interest rate for a green project. We want to introduce 2 lakh electric buses for public transport," Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari said. ...

Softbank-Saudi Tech Fund Becomes World’s Biggest With $93 Billion of Capital

21May By reutersNo Comments

FUNDING

Softbank-Saudi Tech Fund Becomes World’s Biggest With $93 Billion of Capital

The world's largest private equity fund, backed by Japan's Softbank Group and Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund, said on Saturday it had raised over $93 billion to invest in technology sectors such as artificial intelligence and robotics. "The next stage of the Information Revolution is under way, and building the businesses that will make this possible will require unprecedented large-scale, long-term investment," the Softbank Vision Fund said in a statement. Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son, chairman of Softbank, a telecommunications and tech investment group, revealed plans for the fund last October and since then it has obtained commitments from some of the world's most deep-pocketed investors. In addition to Softbank and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the ...

Now Softbank Said Paytm Karo, Invested $1.4 Billion in Paytm

18May By AnkitaNo Comments

FUNDING

Now Softbank Said Paytm Karo, Invested $1.4 Billion in Paytm

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has pumped in USD 1.4 billion (over Rs 9,079 crore) in Indian digital payments platform, Paytm, marking the largest fund infusion by a single investor in an Indian start-up. This is Softbanks largest investment in a single company in India. While both the companies have declined to comment on the valuation, market watchers say that the deal values Paytm at about USD 8 billion. The funding will help Paytm expand fast its soon-to-be launched payments bank operations as well as grow its user base and introduce more financial products for consumers. SoftBank joins Alibaba and its payments affiliate Ant Financial as amongst the largest investors in One97 Communications which operates Paytm. Interestingly, SoftBank was an early investor in Alibaba. "In ...

12May By reutersNo Comments

FUNDING

SoftBank Investing $5 Billion in China Ride Hailing Firm Didi Chuxing

SoftBank Group Corp said it has agreed to invest $5 billion in China's Didi Chuxing, confirming it led a recent fund-raising round by the ride-hailing firm that sources said valued Didi at more than $50 billion. Didi said last month it raised more than $5.5 billion to expand its business overseas and develop artificial intelligence technology. Sources had said investors included SoftBank. A SoftBank spokesman said on Friday the investment was related to Didi's last fund-raising round. SoftBank is trying to transform itself into the "Berkshire Hathaway of the tech industry" with the launch soon of a $100 billion technology fund as telecoms services markets mature. It has already announced plans to invest at least $25 billion over the next five years in the fund, which would be o...