THG to secure up to USD 2.3 bln from Softbank

The equity raising will give Softbank a stake of just under 10% in THG, formerly known as The Hut Group, which floated in London in 2020. The deal was priced at 596 pence per share. The money will be used to fund further acquisitions, with THG also agreeing to buy Bentley Laboratories, a US-based prestige beauty developer and manufacturer, for USD 255 million.

As part of the deal with Softbank, THG has also signed an option for the Japanese investor to invest a further USD 1.6 billion in its THG Ingenuity business which, if exercised, would give Softbank a 19.9% interest in THG Ingenuity at a valuation of USD 6.3 billion. THG Ingenuity is THG's technology arm that provides ecommerce services to other companies. Under the agreement with Softbank, THG Ingenuity will be spun into a separate company within 15 months. The equity fundraising was led by Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Jefferies.