SoftBank’s investment in Paytm is in the red. It had made a total investment of USD 1.6 billion in the fintech major and taken out around USD 220-250 million in the company’s IPO in November 2021. With the fintech’s shares trading 70% below its IPO price, SoftBank’s remaining stake of around 17.5% in the company is currently worth USD 900 million.
Moneycontrol earlier reported that SoftBank, whose holdings in Paytm, Policybazaar, and Delhivery are currently worth USD 1.8 billion, will pare its stakes gradually until 2024 so as to not trigger a panic selling as the lock-in for pre-IPO investors in the three companies expires on 26 November 2022, according to people familiar with the developments.
SoftBank had cumulatively invested around USD 2.2 billion in these three companies and offloaded shares worth USD 560 million at their initial public offerings (IPO). This means that it is sitting on a net gain of around USD 160 million from these bets.
Regulatory concerns and an unclear path to profitability have hurt the fintech's fortunes in the stock market after its USD 2.24 billion initial public offer in 2021.
In August 2022, China-based ecommerce SaaS platform Dianxiaomi has announced it raised USD 110 million in a Series D funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Sequoia China, with the participation of Tiger Global Management, GGV Capital, and others.
The Chinese platform aims to make cross-border ecommerce less complicated by enabling merchants to set up their store in one centralised location that simplifies the processes and reduces the risk of human error. The platform counts for over 1.5 million users around the world and has partnered with more than 50 international ecommerce platforms. Moreover, it benefits from 1,600 logistics providers and has opened 80 warehouses abroad to oversee shipping and delivery.
In the same year, SoftBank also invested in BloXroute, a US-based crypto firm that provides tools for DeFi trading. BloXroute helps traders win trades ahead of slower rivals. BloXroute says its blockchain distribution network allows users to avoid network congestion and receive critical trade information quickly.
BloXroute is a blockchain agnostic platform and supports several networks, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Polygon.
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