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☆ Kahoot agrees to $1.72 billion cash offer from Goldman Sachs, other investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

COPENHAGEN, July 14 (Reuters) - Norway's Kahoot (KAHOT.OL) has agreed to a voluntary cash offer of 17.2 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.72 billion) from the private equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a group of other investors, the company said in a statement on Friday. Goldman set up Norwegian company Kangaroo for the offer that the bank is making with General Atlantic, Kirkbi invest, Glitrafjord and others, Kahoot said in a statement. The offer sent the shares up more than 10% to 34.5 crowns, nearing the offer price of 35 crowns per share. The planned transaction was unanimously recommended by Kahoot's board, the company said. ($1 = 9.9809 Norwegian crowns)Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Essi LehtoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Goldman, Kahoot, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Essi Organizations: Goldman Sachs Asset Management, General Atlantic, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN

Reliance Retail includes Ambani's core retail businesses, including digital and brick-and-mortar stores. It is fully owned by Reliance Retail Ventures, which also houses other retail operations such as international partnerships and the billionaire's consumer goods business. In 2020, Reliance Retail Ventures raised 472.65 billion Indian rupees ($5.72 billion) by selling a 10.09% stake, valuing it at roughly $57 billion based on current exchange rates. EY valued Reliance Retail at 884.03 rupees per share, while BDO valued it at 849.08 rupees, the source said. Reliance Retail has in recent years partnered with a slew of global brands to launch and expand their presence in India.

Persons: Mukesh Ambani, valuers, Ambani, Tiffany, Aditya Kalra, Sriram, Chris Thomas, Savio D'Souza, Louise Heavens, Mark Potter Organizations: Reliance, Reuters, BDO, EY, Reliance Retail Ventures, KKR, Saudi Public Investment Fund, General Atlantic, Reliance Retail, Burberry, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru

Shopping mall developer Simon Property Group is a "cash engine," according to Wolfe research. The company is currently trading at a discount to Wolfe's strip center and overall coverage, said Rosivach. "In fact, SPG is currently trading well below its historic discount to our overall coverage. Shares of Simon Property Group are trading near the flatline in 2023, but have jumped more than 22% over the past 12 months. SPG 1Y mountain SPG in past year —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

Persons: Wolfe, Andrew Rosivach, Rosivach, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Simon Property, SPG, Brands, General Atlantic, Simon Property Group

Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) are among the banks helping Shein with its IPO preparation, according to six of the sources. Didi was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) a year later amid Beijing's crackdown on Chinese technology giants over antitrust and data security rules. Shein officials in Singapore, where the company is headquartered, declined to comment on any IPO plans or on discussions with the investment banks and exchanges. Last week, Reuters reported that Shein had filed its IPO registration confidentially with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Shein was valued at more than $60 billion in a $2 billion private fundraising round in March.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Didi Global's, Didi, Shein, Chris Xu, Kane Wu, Julie Zhu, Greg Roumeliotis Organizations: YORK, Shein, New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, JPMorgan, NYSE, Reuters, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Thomson Locations: China, United States, Singapore, U.S, Beijing, Washington , U.S, Ukraine, China's Xinjiang, Xinjiang, Sequoia Capital China, Nanjing, China's, Jiangsu, Hong Kong, New York

CARE Hospitals Group, according to another investor source, is in talks to sell a 70% stake to U.S. investment giant Blackstone (BX.N) in a deal valued at $800 million. MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN EVERAs government hospitals became increasingly overburdened and incomes rose in India's vast middle class, demand for private healthcare rose over the years. "The India healthcare opportunity has always been attractive, but never more than now. In 2022, PE investors spent $3.2 billion buying stakes in hospitals in India. "Big private hospitals are more reliable," said 35-year-old G. Chavan said as he accompanied his wife to see a doctor.

Persons: Rana Mehta, PwC's, Atlantic, Indira, Blackstone, Gaurav Sharma, Investcorp, Nishant Sharma, Sharma, Chavan, Sriram, Aditya Kalra, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: PwC, General Atlantic, CARE Hospitals, Blackstone, CARE, Kedaara Capital, ASIA'S PACE, Temasek, Reuters Graphics, Apollo Hospitals, Thomson Locations: India, PUNE, Pune, Indira, Bahrain, Mumbai, Manipal, Asia

[1/3] A Shein logo is pictured at the company's office in the central business district of Singapore, October 18, 2022. Shein has confidentially submitted its IPO registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the sources said. In pressing on with its IPO plans, Shein is braving heightened tensions between the United States and China over trade, sensitive technology, human rights and the future of Taiwan. The United States bans exports from Xinjiang for this reason. U.S. lawmakers are also seeking to restrict the "de minimis" tariff exemption widely used by e-commerce retailers such as Shein to send orders from China to the United States.

Persons: Chen Lin, Didi, Shein, Chris Xu, Kane Wu, Julie Zhu, Chizu Nomiyama, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, New, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Thomson Locations: Singapore, New York, United States, China, Taiwan, China's Xinjiang, Xinjiang, Sequoia Capital China, U.S, Ukraine, Nanjing, China's, Jiangsu, Hong Kong

☆ Prosus slashes India's Byju's valuation to $5 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, June 27 (Reuters) - Dutch-listed technology investor Prosus NV (PRX.AS) has slashed the valuation of troubled Indian edtech startup Byju's to $5.1 billion according to its annual report, a fall of more than 75% from the startup's $22 billion valuation last year. Byju's told investors it will file 2022 audited earnings by September and 2023 results by December, Reuters reported. Earlier this year, Blackrock, too, had cut Byju's valuation to $8.3 billion. India's Employee Provident Fund Organisation on Tuesday observed a shortfall in payments from Byju's, Reuters reported. Byju's deposited 1.23 billion rupees ($15.01 million) after the EPFO asked it to.

Persons: Prosus, Byju's, Manvi, Sriram, Pooja Desai Organizations: Prosus NV, Atlantic, BlackRock, Deloitte, Reuters, Blackrock, India's, Provident Fund, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Byju's, U.S, Blackrock, Manvi Pant, Bengaluru, Mumbai

Byju's leadership is in talks with the investors to try to convince them to reverse their decision, the three sources, who declined to be named as the talks are private, told Reuters. Its rise was seen as a boost for India's startup scene as investors including General Atlantic made big bets on Byju's. Two of the sources said the investors took the decision collectively to resign from the board as they were not getting answers from Byju's founder and senior management. The departures mean Byju's board is now only made up of its founder and chief executive Byju Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokulnath, and his brother Riju Raveendran. While the investors are holding talks with Byju's, it has not yet been decided whether or not their decision to resign would change, one of the sources added.

Persons: Chan Zuckerberg, Byju's, Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath, Riju Raveendran, Aditya Kalra, Alexander Smith Organizations: Peak XV Partners, Sequoia Capital, Deloitte, Reuters, Byju's, General Atlantic, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Sequoia Capital India, U.S

June 16 (Reuters) - German bus services firm Flix, owner of the Greyhound brand in North America and FlixBus in Europe, has stepped up preparations for a possible stock-market listing, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Flix has invited investment banks to pitch to manage its share sale in recent weeks, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. U.S. corporate finance house Evercore (EVR.N) is advising Flix on the process, the sources said. Flix, set up in 2011 by three entrepreneurs in Munich to try to make bus travel cheap, runs bus and train services across 40 countries. So far this year, only one stock market listing has taken place in Germany, raising $479 million, according to Refinitiv data.

Persons: Flix, Evercore, IONOS, WE, Hidroelectrica, Emma, Victoria Farr, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, John O'Donnell, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Greyhound, Reuters, Atlantic, Thomson Locations: North America, Europe, Germany, Ukraine, Munich, Permira, BlackRock, London

June 9 (Reuters) - TriNet Group (TNET.N), an online payroll services provider with a market value of close to $7 billion, is exploring a potential sale of the company, according to people familiar with the matter. The Dublin, California-based company is working with investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS.N) to engage with potential acquirers, the sources said. TriNet shares rose 15% on the news to $111.85 in afternoon trading in New York on Friday. Founded in 1988, TriNet provides a wide range of human resources services to small and medium-sized businesses, including payroll, compliance and tax credit services. TriNet shares are up 44% so far this year, significantly outperforming an 11% return in the Russell 1000 index, as its business benefited from companies continuing to hire despite a spike in inflation.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Michael Angelakis, TriNet, Milana Vinn, Marguerita Choy, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: TriNet, Comcast, General Atlantic, Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: Dublin, California, New York, TriNet

☆ How to land a job with Blackstone, Apollo, KRR, and other private equity titans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Kaja Whitehouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Private equity is often seen as the Holy Grail of finance jobs — but breaking in can be challenging. We also have data on private equity pay and the industry's top recruiters. Here is what we found about pay at private equity firms, including Blackstone, Apollo, and Bain Capital. Private equity recruiting has been starting earlier than ever Getty ImagesPrivate equity firms like to recruit young talent from investment banks. These days, the private equity recruiting process has started earlier than ever, resulting in middle-of-the-night interviews with offers being made — and blown up — all before Labor Day.

Persons: —, bymuratdeniz, Blackstone, Samantha Lee, Drew Angerer, Skye Gould, Jon Gray, Grace Koo, Read, Carlyle, Alex Crisses, Thoma Bravo, Warburg Pincus, Wharton's, Axel Springer Organizations: Blackstone, KKR, Service, Apax Partners, Oaktree, of Foreign Labor, Apollo, Bain Capital, Labor, General Atlantic, PJT Partners, Partners, dealmakers, Wall, University of Michigan Locations: Carlyle, Blackstone, Axel

HONG KONG, June 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Shein is threading the world’s trickiest geopolitical needle. But rising American pressure is forcing it to tweak its business model right as it tries to list there. Last year, its top line surged 46% to $23 billion, per the Wall Street Journal, surpassing $22 billion at H&M and outpacing the 18% growth at Inditex. A Boston Consulting Group report notes that this model allows Shein to keep inventory turnover at just 40 days. That will be expensive; the company's net profit margin was a razor-thin 3.5% last year, according to the Wall Street Journal, far below bricks and mortar rival Inditex's 13%.

Persons: Shein, Bernstein, Chris Xu, Xu, Mubadala, Pete Sweeney, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, U.S ., Rivals, Street, Financial Times, Boston Consulting, Morningstar, Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street, ’, Singapore, Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Zara, China, Inditex, Guangdong, U.S, Xinjiang, Nanjing, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, India

☆ 30-year-old started his business with a website, sewing kit and Pizza Hut salary—now he's a billionaire
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Ben Francis didn't become wealthy through a family inheritance or business school connections. Originally, Francis and co-founder Lewis Morgan launched Gymshark as a website selling fitness supplements, he told CNBC Make It in 2021. "CEO was not the right role for me when I was in my early 20s," Francis told CNBC Make It. "Just because I'd started a business that had grown very quickly didn't mean I was the most competent chief exec." "I really think Gymshark can be the U.K.'s answer to those brands," Francis told CNBC Make It.

☆ India's PhonePe raises additional $100 mln from General Atlantic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BENGALURU, May 22 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N)-owned Indian payments firm PhonePe on Monday said that it has secured an additional $100 million from private equity firm General Atlantic, in the latest round of its ongoing $1 billion fundraising. Including the latest round, PhonePe has raised a total of $850 million so far. PhonePe is India's most valuable payments firm with an estimated value of $12 billion and among the country's most highly-valued startups. The company plans to deploy these funds to build and scale new businesses including insurance, wealth management and lending, PhonePe said in March. American retailer Walmart, which acquired a majority share in PhonePe in 2018, will continue as a majority investor in the company.

☆ Byju's CEO assures company's compliance after raids over alleged forex law violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Aditya Kalra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

India's Enforcement Directorate raided three premises linked to the company on Saturday over alleged foreign exchange law violations. The searches revealed that Byju's parent firm Think & Learn Pvt Ltd had received foreign direct investment of nearly 280 billion rupees ($3.43 billion) between 2011 and 2023, the agency said on Saturday. The agency also said that the company remitted 97.5 billion rupees to various foreign jurisdictions between 2011 and 2023 in the name of overseas direct investments. In the internal memo, Raveendran said that the company had sent some money overseas to fund its international acquisitions. The company had taken all efforts to comply with foreign exchange laws and all cross-border transactions were routed through regular banking channels, he added.

☆ CEO of India's Byju assures company's compliance after raids over alleged forex law violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Byju Raveendran, founder and chief executive officer of Think and Learn Pvt., speaks during the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong on March 26, 2019. Indian education platform Byju's CEO is confident that the country's financial crime-fighting agency will find the company compliant after raids on its premises over suspected breaches of foreign exchange laws, according to an internal memo. Byju's is one of India's biggest startups, once valued at $22 billion. It has attracted global investors such as General Atlantic, BlackRock and Sequoia Capital, which have invested in the company over the years. Byju's did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

☆ India probes education platform Byju's over forex laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 29 (Reuters) - India's financial crime-fighting agency said on Saturday it had raided three premises of billionaire Byju Raveendran, the founder and CEO of education platform Byju's, over suspected breaches of the country's foreign exchange laws. Blackrock last month cut Byju's valuation by nearly half to $11.15 billion, according to a filing seen by Reuters. Byju's legal spokesperson said the visit by ED officials to one of the company's offices in Bangalore was related to a routine inquiry under foreign exchange laws. The statement issued by the agency said the company also remitted 97.5 billion rupees to various foreign jurisdictions between 2011 and 2023 in the name of overseas direct investments. Byju's spokesperson said the company had provided authorities with all the information they requested.

☆ India probes education platform Byju's over alleged forex law violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 29 (Reuters) - India's financial crime-fighting agency said on Saturday it had raided three premises linked to education platform Byju's and its billionaire CEO Byju Raveendran over suspected breaches of the country's foreign exchange laws. The searches under alleged foreign exchange law violations revealed that Think and Learn Private Limited, Byju's parent firm, had received foreign direct investment of nearly 280 billion rupees ($3.43 billion) during the period from 2011 to 2023, ED said. Byju's legal spokesperson said the visit by ED officials to one of the company's offices in Bengaluru was related to a routine inquiry under foreign exchange laws. The company reported a loss of 45.64 billion rupees ($558.49 million) in May for fiscal 2021. Byju's spent $2.5 billion in fiscal year ended March 2022 to acquire companies such as Aakash, U.S.-based Epic, kids' coding platform Tynker, professional education firm Great Learning and exam perpetration platform Toppr.

☆ India's PhonePe raises another $100 mln from General Atlantic, other investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, April 12 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N)-owned Indian payments firm PhonePe on Wednesday said it had raised an additional $100 million from General Atlantic and other investors as part of its ongoing $1 billion fundraise to expand into the lucrative lending space. With the latest round, PhonePe, India's most valuable payments firm with an estimated value of $12 billion, has raised $650 million across four tranches from its backers, including Tiger Global. General Atlantic had invested $350 million in the fintech during the same funding round in January. At over 46%, PhonePe in March had the largest market share among applications running the unified payments interface (UPI) digital payments system, per data from the National Payments Corporation of India. Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini GoswamiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 6 startups that have raised $100 million or more in 2023 to change healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The healthcare-staffing startup ShiftKey raised $300 million in a round led by its majority investor Lorient Capital. The clinical-trials-tech startup Paradigm raised a $203 million Series A round led by Arch Venture Partners and General Catalyst. The healthcare-staffing startup ShiftMed raised a $200 million round led by Panoramic Ventures. raised a $200 million round led by Panoramic Ventures. Vytalize Health, a startup that helps doctors provide value-based care, raised $100 million from Enhanced Healthcare Partners, Monroe Capital, and North Coast Ventures.

☆ See the 6 startups that have raised the most cash in 2023 to transform healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Startups in the industry raised $3.4 billion across 132 deals in the first three months of 2023. The healthcare-staffing startup ShiftKey raised $300 million in a round led by its majority investor Lorient Capital. The clinical-trials-tech startup Paradigm raised a $203 million Series A round led by Arch Venture Partners and General Catalyst. The healthcare-staffing startup ShiftMed raised a $200 million round led by Panoramic Ventures. raised a $200 million round led by Panoramic Ventures.

☆ TikTok CEO: App has never shared US data with Chinese government
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"TikTok has never shared, or received a request to share, U.S. user data with the Chinese government. TikTok's critics fear that its U.S. user data could be passed on to China's government by the app and prompted growing calls to ban the app by U.S. lawmakers. The video app has spent more than two years in talks with CFIUS seeking to reach an agreement on protecting U.S. user data. TikTok has formed a special-purpose subsidiary, TikTok U.S. Data Security (USDS), that currently has nearly 1,500 full-time employees and contracted with Oracle (ORCL.N) to store TikTok’s U.S. user data. "Oracle has already begun inspecting TikTok’s sourcecode and will have unprecedented access to the related algorithms and data models," Chew's testimony said.

☆ Walmart pumps $200 mln in Indian fintech PhonePe in ongoing fundraise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, March 17 (Reuters) - Indian digital payments firm PhonePe said on Friday it has raised $200 million from majority backer Walmart Inc (WMT.N) at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. PhonePe, already India's most valuable payments firm and among the country's most highly-valued startups, said the investment is part of its ongoing fundraise of up to $1 billion. American retail behemoth Walmart, which acquired a majority share in PhonePe in 2018, will continue as a majority investor, the Indian company said, without disclosing its stake. PhonePe said it plans to deploy these funds to build and scale new businesses including insurance, wealth management and lending. The relocation, according to some reports, was to ensure an easier entry into the country's highly-regulated financial services industry, especially lending.

"Not only are these big banks not sitting around and waiting for the phone to ring, they are also being proactive." Amid the nation's most troubling turmoil in banking since the global financial crisis nearly 15 years ago, the big banks are flexing their collective muscle. The 2008 financial crisis humbled the banking behemoths; the 2023 crisis of regional banks has now only cemented their power. For an increasingly stretched financial system, the big banks provide a needed stability. The flight to safety that is benefiting the big banks will have a cost, however.

It would help organize a $2.25 billion stock sale for SVB to fill the funding gap caused by the bond portfolio sale, two of the sources said. It is unclear whether Goldman has held onto all or part of the bond portfolio or sold it. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, SVB said its bond portfolio sales to Goldman were done at "negotiated prices". Goldman was not paid the underwriting fee it had agreed for the stock sale because that deal fell through, two of the sources said. UNDISCLOSED ROLESVB did not disclose in its stock sale prospectus to investors that Goldman was the acquirer of the bond portfolio it sold at a loss.

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