Japanese telco Softbank has confirmed a US$1bn investment in Korea’s largest online retailer Coupang in a funding round it expects to close next month.
The announcement comes about a month after South Korean publication The Bell said it was close to…
Japanese telco Softbank has confirmed a US$1bn investment in Korea’s largest online retailer Coupang in a funding round it expects to close next month.
The announcement comes about a month after South Korean publication The Bell said it was close to buying 20% of the Korean company for the same amount.
However, Softbank’s stake in Coupang has not been disclosed.
The companies said the investment brings the total amount of funding raised by Coupang over the past year to nearly US$1.5bn, helping it grow an e-commerce business that gets 75% of revenues from mobile sales.
Softbank vice chairman Nikesh Arora said: “Coupang is setting a new standard for how e-commerce can and should be done across the globe with its innovative technologies and approach to same-day delivery, mobile commerce, and customer service. We look forward to working with [founder and CEO] Bom Kim and his talented team and are excited to support their continued expansion.”
Coupang was founded in 2010 and claimed to have exceeded US$1bn in annual gross merchandise value just three years later.
It is one of a number of start-up investments that Softbank has made recently to broaden its services and expand overseas amid a difficult economic climate in Japan. These acquisitions include an investment in Indonesian e-commerce firm Tokopedia, although its most notable deal in this market remains China’s Alibaba.
Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son paid just US$20m for a stake in Alibaba in 2000, and its holding of about a third of the group was valued at US$54bn when it listed in the US last year.
Issues US$806m bond
Softbank has priced a Y100bn (US$806m) five-year bond at par to refinance existing debt.
The notes, the telco’s 47th unsecured straight corporate bond, carry a 1.36% coupon and were mainly offered to retail investors in Japan.
The underwriters were Nomura, Daiwa, Mizuho, SMBC Nikko, Mitsubishi UFJ, Morgan Stanley, SBI, IwaiCosmo, Okasan, Tokai Tokyo,SMBC Friend and Mito.
The Japan Credit Rating Agency gave the bond a stable A- rating.
