Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank’s Vision Fund is considering investing at least $1bn in one of its portfolio companies, Singapore-headquartered ride hailing platform Grab, TechCrunch reported yesterday.
The news was disclosed by two sources with knowledge of the plan, one of which said the size of SoftBank’s investment could potentially reach $1.5bn. The deal would involve SoftBank’s existing stake in Grab being transferred to Vision Fund.
Grab runs an on-demand ride service that operates in eight Southeast Asian markets. It has branched out into adjacent services such as package and food delivery, linking them through a proprietary mobile payment tool.
The company is currently raising funding in a round that stands at $2.85bn which it expects to close at $3bn by the end of 2018. Vehicle manufacturer Yamaha Motor is the latest participant in that round, having invested $150m last week.
Corporate investors Toyota, Booking Holdings, Microsoft Hyundai, Kia Motors, Kasikornbank, Ping An Capital and Citi Ventures have also invested in the round, as have Mirae Asset – Naver Asia Growth Fund, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners and OppenheimerFunds.
SoftBank first invested in Grab in 2014, when it was still known as GrabTaxi, providing $250m in series D funding before backing a $350m series E in 2015 that included ride hailing service Didi Chuxing, China Investment Corporation, Coatue Management and Tiger Global Management.
Grab subsequently secured $750m in a SoftBank-led series F round in 2016 that also featured unnamed existing backers. Its earlier investors include travel agency Qunar, which backed its $15m series B round in 2014 with GGV Capital and Vertex Venture Holdings, as well as Tiger Global and Hillhouse.
