Jan
14
SoftBank’s Vision Fund Invests $560 Million in Auto1 Car Portal
BySoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund will invest 460 million euros ($560 million) in Auto1 Group GmbH, valuing the used-car sales portal at about 2.9 billion euros.
About half the investment will be made by issuing new shares, Auto1 said in a statement on Sunday. The Financial Times had earlier reported the size of the investment, saying the deal would give SoftBank control of about one-fifth of the company.
SoftBank’s first major deal in Germany, the investment is among the largest so far in Berlin’s growing tech scene. Masterminded by SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son, the Vision Fund has taken stakes in scores of companies over the past year, including Uber Technologies Inc., Slack Technologies Inc. and Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing…
