PE investments jump 55% to all-time high of $24 bn across 591 deals in 2017

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Flipkart received India’s largest ever PE investment of $2.5 billion in a single round from Softbank

Private equity firms invested $23.8 billion across 591 deals in 2017, making it the biggest year for PE investments in India, says a report.

According to deal tracker Venture Intelligence, the investment value is 39 per cent higher than the previous high of $17.1 billion (recorded in 2015) and 55 per cent higher than $15.4 billion invested during 2016. In terms of number of deals the year 2017 saw 21 per cent less activity as compared to 2016 (731 deals), indicating large number of big-ticket transactions.

“The year witnessed 31 investment deals with size greater than USD 200 million, aggregating to $15.4 billion or 65 per cent of the total investments,” the report said. These figures include venture capital investments, but exclude PE investments in real estate.

In terms of industries, IT/ ITeS companies accounted for 45 per cent of the value pie attracting $10.7 billion worth investments across 325 transactions.

Flipkart received India’s largest ever PE investment of $2.5 billion in a single round from Softbank and another $1.4 billion from strategic investors Tencent, eBay and Microsoft. Softbank also invested $1.4 billion in mobile wallet and payments firm One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand. BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance) companies continued to enjoy the second spot attracting $4.40 billion across 61 transactions.

The sector was led by Bain Capital’s $1.04 billion investment in Axis Bank — the largest ever single investment in the sector — and Warburg Pincus’ $384 million pre-IPO investment in ICICI Lombard General Insurance.

On the back of its two mega bets (Flipkart and Paytm), Softbank emerged as the largest investor during the year with investments totaling over $4 billion (including a $250 million investment in Oyo Rooms).

Other top investors include Canadian pension fund CPPIB with $2 billion investments across five companies; while Warburg Pincus invested $1.6 billion across nine companies, and KKR invested about $680 million.

China’s Tencent emerged as a significant strategic investor in the Indian Internet and mobile sector with investment of $1.1 billion across home grown leaders like Flipkart, Ola, Byjus Classes and Practo.

 

Source: Business Standard

SoftBank infuses Rs 1,675 crore in Ola Cabs; fresh funds to help Bengaluru co take on rival Uber

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Japanese investor SoftBank has pumped in about Rs 1,675 crore in fresh funding in Indian transportation startup Ola to give it more muscle to take American rival Uber head-on.

SoftBank subsidiary SIMI Pacific Pte picked 12,97,945 shares valued at Rs 10 at a premium of Rs 12,895 in ANI Technologies — which runs Ola — filings with the Registrar of Companies showed.

Reuters

The allotment of shares was done in November last year, it added.

The latest funding, however, is believed to have come at a lower valuation.

According to sources, the move comes at a time when Softbank is working on selling Snapdeal, an e-commerce platform it invested heavily in India, to larger rival Flipkart.

The Bengaluru-based firm was aggressively looking at raising funds to compete with Uber, the world’s most valuable start-up. After selling its Chinese business to Didi last year, Uber has now set sights on India making it one of its top priorities.

Though Indian Internet companies have seen a boom in user base, their valuations have come down as investors are now focusing on path to profitability and building a sustainable business model. Flush with private equity and venture capitalist money, many start-ups continue to have high burn rate that has been a concern for investors.

Earlier this week, India’s largest e-commerce firm Flipkart raised $1.4 billion from Tencent, eBay and Microsoft in a round that saw its valuation fall from $15 billion to $11.6 billion now.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com/business/softbank-infuses-rs-1675-crore-in-ola-cabs-fresh-funds-to-help-bengaluru-co-take-on-rival-uber-3383644.html

EU seeks to make it easier to buy online from other countries

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An eBay sign is seen at an office building in San Jose, California May 28, 2014.

Online retailers would be banned from stopping a customer in one EU country buying from a website based in another, under a proposal issued on Wednesday to make it easier for consumers to shop across the bloc.

The European Commission said its law would stop “geoblocking” where companies limit access to their websites based on user location, often forcing customers to use versions based in their own country, sometimes with higher prices.

“In the online world, all too often consumers are blocked from accessing offers in other countries,” the Commission said in a statement.

“Such discrimination has no place in the single market.”

The law would affect companies such as Amazon, eBay and Zalando as well as to sales of services provided in a specific location, for example car rental, accommodation and concert tickets.

It would not initially apply to copyright-protected items such as e-books, music and games, although those might be included soon, the Commission said. So for the time being a German citizen would still be unable to buy a Spotify subscription in, for example, Estonia, where it is much cheaper.

The music industry welcomed the exemption, saying that to include such services in the geoblocking proposal would be “a serious blow for cultural diversity.”

Under Wednesday’s proposal, which requires the approval of the European Parliament and national governments to become law, retailers would not be allowed to block access to websites based on a user’s location or to re-route customers to a website version based in their own country without their consent.

Amazon already makes its websites accessible to customers anywhere in Europe, and says 98 percent of its own stock is available to shoppers from any European country.

While e-commerce websites will not be allowed to prevent customers in one EU country buying products in another, they will not be forced to deliver cross-border.

Therefore, an Italian buying a TV from a German website would either have to arrange their own delivery or collect it at the trader’s premises.

The Commission hopes the new rules will increase the proportion of consumers who buy online from another country, currently only 15 percent.

“The European Commission is doing the right thing by helping solve practical problems faced by online businesses, particularly small and medium sized businesses,” said eBay’s’ Paul Todd, Senior Vice President of EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).

A business group said the proposal failed to address the reasons companies use geoblocking, such as differing VAT rates and consumer protection rules.

“This is like putting a sticking plaster on a broken leg,” said John Higgins, director general of DIGITALEUROPE, which represents companies such as Sony, Google and Dropbox.

In a separate proposal, the EU executive sought to increase the transparency of prices for cross-border parcel delivery and to give national authorities the power to assess whether they are affordable.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-ecommerce-geoblocking-idUSKCN0YG1DC