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SoftBank Is Set to Reinvest in Brazilian E-Commerce Unicorn

SoftBank is among existing investors in talks to lead a $120 million fund-raising for Brazilian e-commerce company.

SoftBank Is Set to Reinvest in Brazilian E-Commerce Unicorn
Pedestrians wearing protective masks walk past a SoftBank Corp. store in Tokyo, Japan. (Photographer: Toru Hanai/Bloomberg)

SoftBank Group Corp. is among existing investors in talks to lead a $120 million fund-raising for Brazilian e-commerce company MadeiraMadeira in a transaction that will vault the firm to so-called unicorn status, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The funding round could be finalized by year-end and terms could still change, said the person, who requested anonymity because the talks are private. A unicorn is a startup with a valuation of more than $1 billion.

SoftBank led a $110 million funding round for the startup last year. MadeiraMadeira, founded in 2009 and based in Curitiba, Brazil, sells its own products and those of other merchants. Other investors include Light Street Capital and Flybridge Capital Partners.

SoftBank and MadeiraMadeira representatives declined to comment.

SoftBank expects MadeiraMadeira to lead the digital transformation of Brazil’s growing home-goods segment, Paulo Passoni, managing investment partner of SoftBank Group International’s Latin America fund, said last year.

The Japanese conglomerate said in February that it will continue to invest in Latin America, focusing on industries including e-commerce, health care and fintech. Two managing partners who helped lead the firm’s fund dedicated to bets on the region exited this year.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.