|
SoftBank has been turning to overseas deals for growth amid a
lackluster Japanese economy and shrinking demographics. The
latest move comes two days after SoftBank said it had increased
its controlling stake in Supercell, the Finnish mobile games
maker best known for its hit title 'Clash of Clans'.
The funding, which is expected to close in July, brings the
total sum Coupang has raised over the past year to $1.5 billion,
the companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday. They did
not disclose the size of SoftBank's stake in Coupang following
the deal.
Coupang, founded in 2010 by Harvard dropout Bom Kim, offers
daily deals on goods ranging from beauty products to tickets for
travel and is South Korea's top online commerce firm by revenue.
E-commerce has grown rapidly in South Korea, where consumers
routinely buy goods ranging from toilet paper to designer
handbags through their computers or smartphones.
But intense competition and high promotion costs have raised
questions about the industry's profitability. Coupang reported
an operating loss of 122 billion won ($110.52 million) last
year.
SoftBank's investment comes after Groupon Inc's announcement in
April that it would sell a 46 percent stake in Ticket Monster,
its South Korean e-commerce business, for $360 million to a
partnership formed by KKR and Anchor Equity Partners.
($1 = 1,103.8600 won)
(Additional reporting by Vincent Lee in SEOUL; Reporting by
Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
