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<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tcehy-stock"></a><ul class="summary-list"><li>The global investment group <keyword id="8087626" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Prosus">Prosus</keyword> is selling $14.6 billion of <keyword id="9718057" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tencent-stock">Tencent stock</keyword>.</li><li>The deal will increase Prosus's cash reserves from $4.6 billion to roughly $19.2 billion.</li><li><keyword id="212412" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tencent">Tencent</keyword>'s American ADR has fallen roughly 20% from February 12 highs of nearly $100 per share.</li></ul><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tcehy-stock">Tencent's</a> American ADR sank as much as 9.7% on Wednesday after the firm's largest shareholder, Prosus, said it plans to sell $14.6 billion worth of its stake in the Chinese multinational technology conglomerate.Tencent's Hong Kong shares fell 3.75% on the day.Prosus, the international internet assets division of the South African multinational <keyword id="6356837" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="naspers">Naspers</keyword>, will remain Tencent's largest shareholder holding some 28.9% of the company.Prosus also said it will not sell any more Tencent shares for at least the next three years.<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/naprf-stock">Naspers</a><a href="https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/NPSNY?mod=chiclets"> </a>paid $34 million for a 46.5% stake in Tencent in 2001, three years before the company went public in Hong Kong in June 2004. The acquisition was one of the most lucrative venture capital deals of all time netting Naspers billions.Before the latest sale, Naspers, through Prosus, owned a 30.9% stake in Tencent.The deal is set to increase Prosus' cash reserves from $4.6 billion to roughly $19.2 billion.Tencent is the world's largest videogame company by revenue and operates the popular WeChat app. The company outperformed in 2020 amid an increased stay-at-home audience for its games and apps during the pandemic.Tencent's stock has made huge strides over the past few years due in large part to its lucrative investments in tech firms like Snapchat, the Chinese e-commerce company Pinduoduo, and the delivery and shopping platform Meituan.The company's ADR, which trades on OTC <keyword id="31671" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets">markets</keyword>, reached highs of nearly $100 per share on February 12-giving the company a valuation of over $900 billion-but has fallen roughly 20% in the past few months.Share prices were hurt by investors' fears of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/tencent-sheds-65-billion-government-crackdown-ant-group-2021-3-1030203312">China's recent crackdown</a> on big tech names. After Wednesday's fall, Tencent has lost over $150 billion in market cap from its record highs. Shares of the company's ADR traded down 7.63% as of 3:23 p.m. ET after mounting a mild recovery.<div type="image" title="tcehy chart" height="708" width="830" msid="81959098" hostid="261"></div>

Tencent falls nearly 8% after the firm's largest shareholder said it plans to sell $14.6 billion of its holdings

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)</div></div></div>Africa's largest media company, Nasper's, has plans to expand its new video streaming service to North America, Europe, and Asia, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-26/naspers-said-to-plan-global-showmax-expansion-to-take-on-netflix">according to Bloomberg</a>.The service, called "Showmax," is a Netflix competitor that will offer not only content from the likes of CBS, the BBC, and Time Warner, but also content produced on the African continent.The $65 billion South African company hopes to attract 15 million subscribers outside of Africa, partially by leveraging a deal with Samsung to include Nasper's service in its smart TVs, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-26/naspers-said-to-plan-global-showmax-expansion-to-take-on-netflix">Bloomberg reports</a>. In comparison, Netflix currently has over 60 million subscribers worldwide, and Hulu hit 9 million paid subscribers earlier this year. Amazon bundles its streaming video service with other items in Amazon Prime, which might have 60-80 million subscribers globally according to <a href="http://www.geekwire.com/2015/amazon-may-have-up-to-80-million-high-spending-prime-members-worldwide/">analysts at RBC Capital Markets</a>.Nasper's bet seems to be that worldwide subscribers will pay a premium for African content overlooked by other streaming services. That is the differentiator. The African diaspora numbers around 30 million worldwide, <a href="http://qz.com/560744/africas-biggest-media-company-will-fight-netflix-for-control-of-the-global-streaming-market/">according to Quartz</a>, and could be a source of customers who feel their needs aren't being met by companies like Netflix and Hulu. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/reruns-are-sped-up-to-add-commercials-tbs-tvland-hulu-netflix-seinfeld-2015-10">Cable channels are speeding up 'Seinfeld' reruns to squeeze in more commercials</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="F4dzJkeDpgyWlMcJK3weVmk8N5az4Wgq" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Africa's biggest company is launching a Netflix competitor in the US

<ul><li><keyword id="4376738" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ElasticRun">ElasticRun</keyword> raised $40 million from <keyword id="8265057" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prosus-Ventures">Prosus Ventures</keyword>, which was formerly called <keyword id="3777101" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Naspers-Ventures">Naspers Ventures</keyword>.</li><li>The startup is currently present in 200 cities in India.</li><li>This year, two <keyword id="2879647" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Logistics-startups">logistics startups</keyword> Delhivery and Rivigo have achieved unicorn status.</li></ul>Pune-based logistics firm ElasticRun raised $40 million from Prosus Ventures, which was formerly called Naspers Ventures. The round also saw participation from Avataar Ventures and Kalaari Capital. With the funding, ElasticRun will invest in building its technology platform and evolve its analytics and machine learning platform. The startup also wants to expand to newer geographies. It is currently present in 200 cities in India. “The last mile problem is still a major issue both for logistics and consumer goods companies in India. By working with the network of small stores across the country, we solve that problem while helping the store owners grow their businesses at the same time. In addition, offering a flexible logistics extension to consumer goods companies to directly reach these small retail shops is a huge advantage over traditional distribution networks,” said Sandeep Deshmukh, ElasticRun Co-Founder and CEO. The latest funding in the $300 billion logistics industry in India is another proof of growing investor interest in the category. This year, two logistics startups Delhivery and Rivigo also achieved unicorn status. Rivigo raised $65 million in its latest Series E round. The funding came in from PE firm Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners. Another logistics startup Blackbuck raised funds in May and fell a few million short of being a unicorn. It is currently valued at $950 million. Blackbuck raised $150 million from Goldman Sachs Investment Partners and Silicon Valley-based Accel, along with Wellington, Sequoia Capital, B Capital and LightStreet and existing investors Sands Capital and International Finance Corporation.

Logistics startup ElasticRun raises $40 million to expand to new geographies

<ul><li><keyword id="5890319" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Social-E-commerce">Social e-commerce</keyword> startup <keyword id="3480589" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Meesho">Meesho</keyword> has raised $125 million from Naspers. </li><li>The startup was in the news for being Facebook’s first direct investment in India. </li><li>Meesho has over 2 million ‘social sellers’ across 700 towns in India.</li></ul>Meesho, the online marketplace raised $125 million funding led by Naspers. The round also saw participation from Facebook and existing investors SAIF, Sequoia, Shunwei Capital, RPS and Venture Highway and former Vodafone Group CEO Arun Sarin. Meesho is a marketplace for resellers, which connects them with customers via social media channels like WhatsApp and Facebook. “Our social sellers are small retailers, women, students and retired citizens, with 70% being homemakers who have found financial freedom and a business identity without having to step outside their homes,” said Vidit Aatrey, Meesho Co-Founder and CEO. One of the investors of this social e-commerce startup is Facebook. It’s the first time that the global giant picked up equity in an Indian startup. “With this investment in Meesho, we want to fuel a business model that can result in rapid job creation and the rise of a female entrepreneurial class in India," <keyword id="736869" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Facebook-India">Facebook India</keyword> head Ajit Mohan had then said in an <a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/start-ups/facebook-invests-in-bengaluru-based-meesho-1560427873327.html">interview</a>. Meesho has over two million ‘social sellers’ across 700 towns in India along with a distribution channel of 15,000 suppliers in traditional manufacturing hubs. Its focus is largely on apparel, home, wellness and electronics items. The startup intends to create 20 million entrepreneurs by 2020. With the latest investment, Meesho wants to grow its community of women entrepreneurs and also reach out to remote customers of India. The startup was also a part of the global accelerator programme Y-Combinator. It had earlier raised a funding of $65 million from Sequoia India, DST Partners and Shunwei Capital.

Facebook-backed Indian startup Meesho raises $125 million from Naspers

<ul class="summary-list"><li>SoftBank, Naspers, and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway are selling Chinese tech stocks.</li><li>The trio have been cutting their respective stakes in Alibaba, Tencent, and BYD.</li></ul>Some of the world's best investors are cashing out their iconic bets on technology stocks from China, in the face of tightening regulations, disruptive COVID-19 lockdowns, and mounting economic challenges in the country.Warren Buffett's <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/brk-b-stock">Berkshire Hathaway</a> plowed $232 million into <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/byddf-stock">BYD</a> in 2008, securing a stake in the Chinese electric-vehicle maker worth nearly $10 billion in June. However, the famed investor's company has <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-byd-china-ev-stock-sales-auto-2022-9">sold about 8%</a> of its position for around $600 million over the past two months, netting a roughly 35-fold return on its money.Buffett's business partner, Charlie Munger, and one of the pair's close associates, Li Lu, have <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-berkshire-byd-stock-sales-charlie-munger-li-lu-2022-9">pared their bets</a> on BYD over the past 18 months. They have pocketed several times what they invested.SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/billionaire-investor-chamath-palihapitiya-models-firm-warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-2020-6-1029349522">modeled</a> his technology conglomerate on Berkshire, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alibaba-jack-ma-softbank-masayoshi-son-send-drawings-2021-2">invested $20 million</a> in Jack Ma's <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/baba-stock">Alibaba</a> in 2000. Until recently, SoftBank still owned about 24% of the Chinese e-commerce titan — a stake worth over $200 billion in October 2020 (the stock has plunged by 70% since then).Son's company is in the process of slashing its Alibaba stake to about 15%, and expects to realize a $34 billion gain, a SoftBank executive <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ef6b1b24-a70a-403f-bcd1-d19b8c611f80">told the Financial Times</a> in August.Meanwhile, Naspers invested $32 million in <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tcehy-stock">Tencent</a> for 45.6% of the WeChat owner in 2001. The South African tech company's Prosus subsidiary still owns close to 30% of the Chinese media giant — a stake valued at north of $100 billion today.However, Prosus <a href="https://www.prosus.com/news/the-group-announces-the-beginning-of-an-open-ended-share-repurchase-programme-of-prosus-and-naspers-shares/">declared in June</a> that it would pare its position, and <a href="https://di.hkex.com.hk/di/NSForm2.aspx?fn=CS20220908E00356&amp;sa2=np&amp;scpid1=94515&amp;scpid3=0&amp;scpid2=6893&amp;sa1=pl&amp;scsd=09%2f09%2f2021&amp;sced=09%2f09%2f2022&amp;pn=prosus&amp;src=MAIN&amp;lang=EN&amp;g_lang=en&amp;">listed</a> a hefty $7.6 billion worth of Tencent stock on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's clearing system this week. The Dutch company confirmed that it plans to dispose of those shares.Buffett, Munger, and Li haven't offered any explanation for their BYD sales. Prosus is selling Tencent shares to finance stock buybacks, while SoftBank slashed its Alibaba stake to shore up its balance sheet.Regardless, it's safe to say all of these investors want to realize some of their massive gains on Chinese stocks before they potentially disappear. After all, Alibaba, BYD, and Tencent shares have all slumped sharply this year, and the outlook for Chinese tech companies has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/insider-guide-china-tech-crackdown-from-algorithms-to-crypto-mining-2021-10?r=US&amp;IR=T">darkened in recent years</a>.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-to-buy-chief-strategist-at-8bn-firm-on-whats-next-in-markets-2022-9">The global strategy chief for $8 trillion Charles Schwab explains why he sees stocks finishing strong in 2022 amid a housing-market slowdown — and shares the one type of company he's bullish on now</a>

SoftBank, Naspers, and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway are cutting their iconic bets on Chinese tech stocks

About two dozen top executives working with the fashion portal <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword> will become millionaires as the country's largest online retailer <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> completes a long-awaited acquisition of the company. 
 
Among these executives are chief operating officer Ganesh Subramanian, chief technology and product officer Shamik Sharma, human resources head Pooja Gupta and chief marketing officer Vikas Ahuja. Their shares are approximately worth between $1 million and $4 million or up to Rs 25 crore. 
 
But it is not just the top executives who will benefit. Almost all the employees in central functions such as technology and marketing, apart from the call centre and delivery staff, have received stock options. 
 This is contrary to what has been the norm in the country’s start-up sector, where founders make the most out of lucrative deals. "Employees are the least represented at the deal table," said Alok Goel, former chief operating officer of online ticketing firm <keyword id="6359128" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Redbus">redBus</keyword>, which was acquired by South Africa's <keyword id="6356837" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Naspers">Naspers</keyword> in 2013. 
 
Goel, who is now the chief executive of Freecharge, an online recharge site, said that the start-ups set aside a stock pool, but do not distribute it. "At Freecharge, we have set aside a healthy stock pool and have already distributed a large chunk of it," he added. 
 
"Fewer employees have stock in the company," said a recruitment consultant who has worked with Myntra. Naukri and MakeMyTrip are regarded as start-ups that shared their wealth with employees in the form of stock options. 
 
The best-known Indian company for sharing its wealth with the employees is Infosys. Since 1994, the company has had three ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) plans that covered 32,000 employees. 
 
"Myntra's is a good model for other start-ups and entrepreneurs," said Anshuman Das, managing partner at Longhouse Consulting, a recruitment firm that works with start-ups.

Top Myntra Execs To Become Millionaires After
Flipkart Deal

New Delhi, Apr 10 (PIT) Consumer internet firm Prosus, which has invested in companies like Swiggy, Byju's etc, on Friday pledged to donate Rs 100 crore to the Prime Minister's relief fund for supporting coronavirus relief work. "Prosus, the global consumer internet group of Naspers, has committed Rs 100 crore to the Indian government's response to the Covid-19 crisis. The donation will be made to the 'Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund'," the company said in a statement. Prosus has invested around USD 5 billion (about Rs 37,900 crore) in Indian technology companies since 2005. Its portfolio includes Brainly, Byju's, Codecademy, eMAG, Honor, iFood, LazyPay, letgo, Meesho, Movile, OLX, PayU, Red Dot Payments, Remitly, SimilarWeb, SoloLearn, Swiggy, and Udemy. "These are unprecedented times and we want to play our part in contributing to the efforts underway in India. By working with government and civil society, we hope to help India overcome this very difficult period," Prosus and Naspers Group CEO Bob van Dijk said. In addition to its direct contribution to the PM CARES Fund, Prosus is working closely with the companies it partners with to support measures designed to help Indians affected by the situation, the statement said. Byju's has offered its learning platform for free in India until the end of April to help parents support their children's learning while away from school. On the other hand, Olx is allowing advertisements to stay on its site for an additional 30 days, at no extra cost and PayU has built a platform to enable any brand in India to start raising funds from its customers for the PM CARES Fund. "Swiggy has launched a campaign to donate meals to persons in need in India. The public can also donate to this campaign. The campaign is currently donating approximately 35,000 meals per day, with a goal of raising this to 500,000 meals per day as soon as possible," the statement said. PRS ANU

Prosus commits Rs 100 crore for PM's Covid relief fund

New Delhi, Jan 31 () The Competition Commission has dismissed allegations of unfair business practices against global internet firm Naspers-owned PayU Payments and Wibmo, citing lack of evidence showing any abusive conduct.
 The order came after a complaint stated that on acquisition of Wibmo by PayU, the combined entity is directly or indirectly likely to result in unfair or discriminatory conditions in availing e-payment processing gateway services in India.
 The complainant said that PayU is a dominant player in the market of e-payment processing gateways in India with a high market share in some sectors.
 It was alleged that PayU has intentionally foreclosed the market for other competitors by denying them proper access to Wibmo in the downstream market and has substantially created entry barriers for new market players by capturing the downstream market through Wibmo so that no other competitor can use a safe pathway to lead customers towards a safe e-payment transaction.
 However, the regulator noted that no evidence was furnished which could suggest that the opposite parties have indulged in such abusive conduct.
 It said "while the Act prohibits an abuse of dominant position by an enterprise, mere existence of dominant position, without any prima facie evidence of its abuse, is not recognised as an anti-competitive conduct in the scheme of the Act."
 It further noted that "the informant has merely stated that there is reduction in transaction time and a more secured payment ecosystem, owing to such integration...Thus, in the absence of any alleged abusive conduct, it will be legally untenable to direct an investigation under the Act".
 PayU is a fintech company that provides payment technology solutions to online merchants, while Wibmo is a leading technology and service provider for financial services industry, best known for its hosted risk-based authentication, 3D secure, and payment security services. SRS 
RVK

CCI dismisses complaint against Naspers-owned PayU Payments, Wibmo

<ul><li><keyword id="830092" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zomato">Zomato</keyword> is in talks to raise $400 million from Ant Financial and Temasek, which could give it a <keyword id="51393" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="valuation">valuation</keyword> of as much as $2 billion. </li><li>Earlier this week, <keyword id="6358977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="swiggy">Swiggy</keyword> raised $210 million from Naspers and DST Global, which helped it breach the $1 billion valuation mark. </li><li>Swiggy reportedly leads Zomato in terms of orders, clocking in more than 10 million orders a month compared to Zomato’s 7 million. </li></ul> Zomato, a restaurant discovery and <keyword id="6376068" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="food-delivery">food delivery</keyword> app, is reportedly in final negotiations to raise an additional $400 million from its investors Ant Financial, which is owned by Alibaba, and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings. The potential investment, which was reported by Livemint, could value the company at as much as $2 billion. Talks have reportedly been going on since early April. A threat from a rival <keyword id="152045" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Unicorn">unicorn</keyword> The report come swiftly after rival food delivery service Swiggy closed a $210 million infusion in a funding round which was led by Naspers, a South African media conglomerate, and DST Global, which is owned by Israeli-Russian billionaire Yuri Milner. The investment has catapulted Swiggy to the unicorn club by giving it a valuation of $1.3 billion. This is a significant achievement for a company that is only four years old. It took Zomato more than twice the time to become a unicorn. The investment puts Swiggy ahead of Zomato, in terms of valuation, until the latter’s funding round is completed. In February, Ant Financial ploughed <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/zomato-raises-200-million-from-ant-small-and-medium-financials-2498127.html">$200 million</a> into Zomato, valuing it at $1.1 billion in the process. Swiggy was valued at around $700 million around the same time. Another battleground As the companies take on each other in terms of valuations, they will also try to muscle each other out in a hotly-contested market. Swiggy currently leads Zomato in terms of orders, clocking in more than 10 million a month as compared to Zomato’s 7 million. Alongside the e-commerce and ride-hailing sectors, the online food delivery space is another battleground for tech companies in India. A number of companies are competing in the space, including ride-hailing apps like Uber, which is ramping up its UberEats services, and Ola, which acquired Foodpanda late last year. As they try and seize each other’s market share and make inroads into new cities, a lot of cash will be spent on supply chain expansion while handouts will be given to entice restaurants and customers to come aboard.

Zomato will likely stay ahead of rival Swiggy in latest round of valuations

<ul><li><keyword id="80487" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="walmart">Walmart</keyword>'s will potentially be bidding to acquire more than 51% stake in <keyword id="6354742" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> by investing up to $8-10 billion. </li><li>Other major investors include <keyword id="163404" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword> (23% stake), Tiger Global (20% stake) and <keyword id="6356837" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="naspers">Naspers</keyword> (16.6% stake).</li><li>SoftBank is willing to pump in an additional $3-4 billion, if Flipkart opts to pursue <keyword id="18635" type="LOCATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>'s offer instead of Walmart.</li></ul> Despite Amazon’s bid to buy a 60% stake in India’s Flipkart, reports say the deal will go in Walmart’s favour. Talks of Walmart wanting to acquire a massive stake of Flipkart have been on since February. And with that news, a number of companies, including Google and Amazon, seem to want a piece of Flipkart’s pie. The Bentonville-based retail giant, Walmart, has been itching to expand its online presence into the remaining Asian markets. If this deal materialises -- its biggest e-commerce bet anywhere globally -- will also trigger a re-rating of its stock market valuation, which is currently second only to Amazon. A source told <keyword id="6356641" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Times-of-India">Times of India</keyword> (TOI) that “the shareholding agreement with Walmart is still to be signed. But it is unlikely that Amazon will come in now. Walmart and Flipkart are agreeing on the deal terms, for now.” Sources with knowledge of the proceedings told <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/companies/walmart-nears-flipkart-deal-amazon-push-fails/articleshow/64010460.cms?from=mdr" data-type="tilCustomLink">TOI</a> that SoftBank has been favouring the merger with Amazon instead of Walmart. For this, it is also willing to pump in an additional $3-4 billion, in case Flipkart opts to pursue Amazon's offer instead of Walmart. While most other investors are keen on Walmart’s cashout deal, SoftBank, wants to maintain its 20% stake in the combined <keyword id="6412936" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="flipkart-amazon">Flipkart-Amazon</keyword> entity. The additional amount can in-turn be deployed to buy shares from smaller investors. Flipkart has been valued at around $20 billion and its major investors include SoftBank (23% stake), Tiger Global (20% stake), Naspers (16.6% stake) and <keyword id="144381" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Accel-Partners">Accel Partners</keyword> (one of the early investors in Flipkart that hold less than 10% stake). However, this idea does not fly with the other major investors who believe -- and perhaps rightly so -- that the potential merger with Amazon would not go past the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The CCI, founded in 2003, is a statutory body responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 which aims at preventing activities that have a significantly adverse effect on competition in India. Plus, the merger with Amazon would potentially irk the different sections of the trading community. However, SoftBank maintains, Flipkart and Amazon combined will only manage a mere 1.5% stake in the broader Indian retailing industry and therefore is unlikely to run into regulatory hurdles. The Japanese company’s founder and chairman Masayoshi Son saw the potential merger between the two e-commerce behemoths as a way to get his company a bigger play in India’s promising e-commerce market. Just last year, it invested an additional $2.5 billion in Flipkart. According to a <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/companies/softbank-likely-to-part-sell-flipkart-stake-to-walmart/articleshow/63291759.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Times of India article</a> from 14 March, Walmart's potential bid to acquire more than 51% stake by investing up to $8-10 billion in Flipkart may just nudge SoftBank to part-sell its shares. However, Masayoshi Son told TOI a few days ago, “We are involved in discussions with key shareholders and the management. Either way, we are happy. It is nice to have good offers and we are always open to discussing different options and are always flexible for a good return and success of the company.” All this aside, another source said that the Flipkart board already agreed to Walmart’s offer a few days ago, thereby possibly thwarting Amazon’s intention to sweep in and win the game.

Walmart may edge out Amazon in the race to buy holding stake in India’s Flipkart

<ul><li>E-commerce giants <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> are teaming up to garner support against the Indian government’s new e-commerce policy that will come into effect on February 1.</li><li>If the policy is implemented the ‘Republic Day’ sale on January 26 will probably be the last ‘big sale’ that both companies will be able to offer. </li><li>Industry moderators like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) are being lined up as allies to help lobby support. </li><li>Investment stakeholders like SoftBank, Tiger Global, Sequoia and Naspers are also reportedly being pulled into the loop.</li></ul>The new e-commerce rules rolled out by the Indian government pulls the red carpet out from under the feet of e-tailers like Amazon and Flipkart. Now the two e-commerce are teaming up along with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and other stakeholders according to a <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/flipkart-amazon-to-put-up-united-front-against-populist-e-commerce-policy-119010200954_1.html">report</a> by Business Standard. Investment companies like SoftBank, Tiger Global, Sequoia and Naspers are also reportedly being pulled into the loop in order to get the Indian government to relax the new directives. On the other side of the table are organisations like the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and Swadeshi Jagran Manch that have been pulling pressure on the Indian government to keep the interests of local traders in mind. If the new e-commerce is truly implemented on February 1, then the ‘Republic Day’ sale will probably be the last ‘big sale’ by Amazon and Flipkart until they’re able to reconfigure their supply chain. It’s not leveling the playing field — only removing competition The report cites sources claiming that the new policy is a ‘populist’ and ‘titled’ e-commerce policy that is only being rolled in order to appease local traders since it’s right before the 2019 General Elections are set to take place in India. Taking away the deep discounts that make the online giants are attractive online shopping market is only one part of the story. The primary concern is that if the e-commerce giants are unable to sell through associated vendors, then they will have to completely revamp the way that their supply chain works — something that is easier said than done, especially since that’s Amazon and Flipkart’s modus operandi. Experts that side with the e-commerce firms feel that they’re being targeted unfairly. Physical retailers also sell their private labels within the larger brand. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Fresh sells ‘Reliance Select’ products and Aditya Birla’s More supermarket has ‘More Choice Superior’ items lining the shelves. Both brands also have e-portals where consumers can order these things online and have delivered to their doorstep. Even Future Group’s Big Bazaar and Easyday outlets have their sub-brands readily available claiming superior quality at cheaper prices. The larger implication is that if Amazon and Flipkart are forced to cut down on their business, then the direct and indirect jobs under their purview will also be at risk.

India’s new e-commerce policy has rivals Flipkart and Amazon teaming up to counter the new directive — and the ‘Republic Day’ sale will probably be their last

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Business Insider/Julie BortSimilar Web CEO Or Offer</div></div></div>The first thing you have to know about Or Offer, the charismatic young CEO cofounder of Israeli startup SimilarWeb is that he thinks big. Really, really big.And that's how he wound up running a company called SimilarWeb that seemed to spring out of nowhere a couple of years ago to become a star in the web and mobile app analysis world.SimilarWeb has been profitable almost from the get-go, has raised more than $40 million, all from long-term strategic investors including British billionaire David Alliance and Africa's huge internet investment conglomerate Naspers. (We were told the total funding amount but we promised not to share.) While Offer also isn't publicly sharing the valuation for his company, word on the street in Israel is that if SimilarWeb isn't a unicorn yet, it will be soon.The company's growth has gone bonkers since 2013, when it released its competitor to Alexa, the Amazon-owned Web analytics firm. In the past year alone SimilarWeb grew from 60 employees to 200 and is hiring in New York and Israel like crazy, recruiting about 20 people a month, Offer says.And it all happened because Offer was trying to build a jewelry business.<h2>Stalking David Yurman on the internet</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Business Insider/Julie BortSimilarWeb office</div></div></div>Offer's parents are artists. His dad a painter and sculpture. His mom a jewelry designer He finished his three-year tour in the army (a requirement for all Israeli citizens at age 18), and had to find a career."I decided I would go back and scale my mother's workshop into a big empire, like Pandora with her brand name," he said.He started selling to more jewelry stores and then directly to consumers. Employees grew from 10 to 20. He hired factories in India and China to make the products. He and a buddy started to open a chain of jewelry stores.One day, he had a meeting with a partner selling the jewelry in the US who told him that his designs were beautiful and very similar to David Yurman, the uber popular American designer."I said, I don't know him," Offer told Business Insider. "He was looking at me like you don't know David Yurman? He's a big thing in the US. I went home and researched David Yurman, saw this amazing jewelry design and immediately fell in love. I was shocked that I never heard of him, he was in my niche. I thought, I want to be like him, how could I never have heard of him?"He wondered what other huge designers he didn't know about."I want to see all the other sites on the Internet that had designers like David Yurman. Who are they? And I couldn't find them," he said.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Business Insider/Julie BortSimilarWeb CEO Or Offer in his Tel Aviv office</div></div></div>The problem bugged him for days. "I was always a coder from a very young age. I don't look like a computer geek, but I assure you I am," he says."Then one night I had this vision that I would have something on my browser that there was something I could click that would say, 'If you like David Yurman, here are all the other sites like his.' It's called website recommendation, similar to what you see on YouTube. I wanted the same thing for websites and I decided to build it," he said.He called a fellow geek from high school, who called two of his friends from the army, "a secret Israeli unit that did crazy coding" and in 2007 the four of them went to work."After a year and a half of bootstrapping, I was funding all of this from my jewelry business, we launch it in 2009," Offer says.SimilarWeb was born.The browser plug in was a huge hit but there was a problem, there was no way to make any money from it.<h2>A business model came to them</h2>In a short while, internet researchers started calling them. The plug ins were collecting a lot of data about people's surfing behaviors that these researchers wanted to buy. "We had found a business model," Offer laughed.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Business Insider/Julie Bort</div></div></div>That encouraged them to build more apps, collect more data to sell. And they were profitable. "but it wasn't interesting," he said. "In 2011, we wanted a better reason to wake up in the morning, to bring something very valuable to the world. We all want to build stuff that matters." In fact "Build stuff that matters" became his motto. He had a poster made and hung it on his office wall, across from the gorgeous original painting his dad gave to him. (SimilarWeb's headquarters is filled with art made by his parents.)"We decided we wanted to become the leading digital measurement company in the digital world. In 2011, we were crazy enough to think we would succeed. Our main goal was to take over Alexa," he said.They spent over a year building the product but when they showed it around, people "didn't get it."So he scrapped it and started over. "At that point we had a lot of revenues coming from other sources. We were small but profitable back then, so we could take our time," he said.For instance, SimilarWeb had invested in a startup called AfterDownload that sold to another big-name Israeli tech company, IronSource, for $28 million. "We had a nice exit," Offer smiles. He's now become a big angel investor in Israel himself who's <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/oroffer">backed a handful of other cool young companies.</a><h2>Bigger than big</h2>Offer says that from the start, "it was very clear that this was going to be big. The potential and market size was crazy big. Funny thing, we never understand how big it is. So every year it's like, stop, it's not a $100 million business, it's a billion-dollar business. And then, it's not $1 billion it's a $10 billion business," he says.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Business Insider/Julie BortAn employee at SimilarWeb's Spiders group responsible for crawling and categorizing all the websites on the internet</div></div></div>SimilarWeb isn't quite a $10 billion business yet, but they do have one huge customer and investor: gigantic African internet investment conglomerate Naspers.Naspers has backed about a hundred huge internet companies around the world outside of the US. It owns about a third of China's Tencent and has stakes in Russia's Mail RU and India's Flipkart.Naspers was using SimilarWeb to make investing decisions and in late 2014, an executive called Offers and asked to meet with him."Then they told me the dream that every entrepreneur want to hear: How much money do I want and at how much valuation? I threw some crazy numbers at them and they said ok. They are amazing investors and they are our biggest customers, our biggest fans."Because he has long-term investors instead of VCs, and the company is profitable, he's in no hurry to go public, though he hasn't ruled it out, he says."I started my way selling jewelry and ended up measuring the whole internet," he laughs. "You never know where life is taking you."Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through hispersonal investment company Bezos Expeditions. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/legend-trailer-with-tom-hardy-2015-6">Tom Hardy makes a crazy transformation playing identical twins in this new gangster movie</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1uYjh4dTpwTQV0B9vjmmDX3JuE4LMeFF" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

You Searched For "naspers" and got 12 results

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