India’s Snapdeal finds its largest shareholder in Japan’s Softbank Group.
Japanese mobile carrier Softbank Group announced that it would invest in one of the leading Indian online retailers Snapdeal to expand its presence in the Indian online market, on October 28, 2014. The agreement will be finalized by November end this year.
Snapdeal is one of India’s largest growing e-commerce websites, with a over 50,000 business vendors and 25 million registered users. The firm has raised $350 million since its inception in 2010, with an annual sales of $1 billion.
After this move, the company’s value will skyrocket to double, as Softbank takes its place as the company’s biggest shareholder. The eBay backed e-tailer has the backing of Indian business stalwart Ratan Tata, as well as Singapore’s Temasek and BlackRock, an asset management firm.
The mobile carrier was in news only last year as it had taken over the US wireless giant Sprint for over $21 billion. The Japanese firm had also stated that it would jointly invest $210 million in India’s ANI Technologies, also known as Ola Cabs, which provides a reservation system for car rentals and cab services through phone, as well as online.
Softbank Group has over 1,300 subsidiaries and affiliates involved in a range of mobile communications, fixed-line communications and Internet services. It also holds about one-third of the Chinese online giant Alibaba.
Photo Credits: bgr.in
