SoftBank’s Vision Fund Backs Flipkart After Failed Merger With Snapdeal
SoftBank Vision Fund becomes one of the largest shareholders in Flipkart.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund has invested in Flipkart, days after a failed bid to combine India’s largest online retailer with its smaller rival Snapdeal.
With the fresh investment, Vision Fund is one of the largest shareholders in Flipkart, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Flipkart did not disclose the amount, but said the fresh investment is part of the previously announced financing round when it raised $1.4 billion from Tencent Holdings, eBay and Microsoft Corp.
Post the investment, a mix of primary and secondary capital, Flipkart will have cash in excess of $4 billion, the statement said.
After Flipkart’s bid to take over Snapdeal failed, Masayoshi Son, founder and chief executive officer at SoftBank, had said the Japanese firm was pursuing separate discussions with the largest Indian e-tailer.
On Thursday, Son said in the statement, “We want to support innovative companies that are clear winners in India because they are best positioned to leverage technology and help people lead better lives.”
Binny and Sachin Bansal, co-founders of Flipkart, called it a “monumental deal” and said very few economies globally have been able to attract such overwhelming interest from top-tier investors.