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India: SoftBank seeks greater clout in global ride-hailing market

By  |  November 22, 2017

Masayoshi Son is looking to strengthen his grip on the global ride-hailing market, with SoftBank entering talks to become the dominant shareholder in Ola, Uber’s local rival in India. The Japanese conglomerate that Mr Son founded is in negotiations to buy some or all of the 13-14 per cent stake held by US hedge fund Tiger Global in ANI Technologies, Ola’s parent company, according to three people close to the talks. SoftBank already holds about 25 per cent of ANI’s shares so this would make it by far the largest backer of the Indian company. A deal would further concentrate SoftBank’s power in the car-booking market worldwide. The company is negotiating a $10bn investment in Uber and also has invested in Didi Chuxing in China as well as Grab, which operates across Southeast Asia. “Ola is a strategically important investment in our global portfolio,” SoftBank said. “We are confident that our support will help them grow and become one of India’s most valuable companies.”

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