Respect Snapdeal founders’ move, talking to Flipkart now: SoftBank
1 min read . Updated: 07 Aug 2017, 10:52 PM IST
PremiumSoftBank is reported to be in talks with Snapdeal rival Flipkart for investing up to $2 billion from the SoftBank Vision Fund
New Delhi: SoftBank Group Corp. chief executive officer (CEO) Masayoshi Son on Monday said he respected the decision of Snapdeal founders to call off sale to Flipkart, and the Japanese firm is now pursuing separate discussions with India’s largest e-commerce firm.
SoftBank, which announced its June quarter financials on Monday, has been reported to be in talks with Snapdeal’s rival and India’s largest e-commerce platform Flipkart for investing up to $2 billion.
“We respect the decision of Snapdeal founders and we are engaged with Flipkart," Son said after the results were announced. Son, however, did not specify the details of the discussions with Flipkart.
SoftBank holds close to 35% stake in Snapdeal, run by Jasper Infotech Ltd. Over the past few months, it had mediated the sale of the company to the larger rival. However, last week, the talks fell apart after Snapdeal announced that it had decided to pursue an independent path and was terminating all strategic discussions.
People aware of the matter had said that after the Snapdeal sale to Flipkart did not work out, SoftBank is now looking at investing up to $2 billion in Flipkart through its SoftBank Vision Fund. For the June quarter, SoftBank posted over 50% rise in operating profit on the back of inclusion of the SoftBank Vision Fund as a new segment.
The SoftBank Vision Fund, billed to be the world’s largest private equity fund at $100 billion, booked a valuation gain this quarter. Net sales were up 3% year-on-year to 2,186.1 billion yen, while net income was lower by 98% to 5.5 billion yen in the June 2017 quarter.
