Softbank aims to acquire Flipkart on $10 billion valuation

SoftBank Group Corp. offered to buy Flipkart Ltd for US$85-89 per share at US$10 billion valuation. The Minato conglomerate aims to acquire the e-commerce giant headquartered in Bengaluru owned by investors including Tiger Global Management, Accel, Kalaari Capital and IDG Ventures.

SoftBank has offered to acquire Flipkart shares owned by Tiger Global, Accel, Kalaari Capital, IDG Ventures and former employees. SoftBank is rumored to have offered a figure of US$85-89 per share on US$9-10 billion valuation.

The price was lower than capitalization in two rounds of funding of US$1.4 billion each from SoftBank in August and others from eBay Inc, Microsoft Corp. and Tencent Holdings Ltd in April. Both funding aims to encourage Flipkart to compete against Amazon India.

Tiger Global is expected to sell shares worth US$700 million. Sales enabled Accel to record an increase from an investment of US$55 million in 2008. For Fixel, the sale of those shares would reduce the exposure on which the company has planted about US$1 billion in several rounds starting late 2009.

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General Electric quarterly profit drops 28 percent

Tinuku - US industrial conglomerate General Electric Co reported a 28 percent drop in quarterly profit on Friday. GE confirmed its full-year EPS target adjusted from $1.00 to $1.07 per share, but cut its annual cash target to $6 billion from $6 billion to $7 billion and shares down 49 percent in the past year.

Investors are still interested in GE but many want to wait for strength and stable capital units before buying stocks. Losses widened at GE Capital to $207 million compared with a loss of $172 million a year ago. The electric unit's profit fell 58 percent in the quarter to $421 million from $ 994 million as orders fell 26 percent to $7.4 billion.

GE was the most valuable public company in the world in the past decade and a half, but has failed in some of the major industrial markets in recent years and its diversion into financial services led it into the eyes of a global financial storm in 2008. The 126-year-old company has cut costs aggressively selling the business and tr…

Rolls-Royce plans for flying taxi service

Tinuku - Rolls-Royce Holdings plc has designed a propulsion system for flying taxi and is starting search for partners to help develop a project it hopes could take to the skies as soon as early next decade. British jet engine maker said on Sunday it had drawn up plans for an electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) vehicle which could carry to five people at speeds of up 250 mph for approximately 500 miles.

The company joins a variety of companies racing to develop flying taxis, which could revolutionize the way people travel. Aviation and technology leaders are working to make electric-powered flying taxis a reality, including Airbus, U.S. ride- sharing firm Uber and a range of start-ups including one backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, called Kitty Hawk.

Rolls-Royce’s design will be showcased in digital form at the Farnborough Airshow, which starts on Monday. The company is looking for an airframer and a partner to provide aspects of the electrical system to help commerci…

Masayoshi Son says Japan is stupid to disallow ride-sharing

Tinuku - SoftBank Group Corp CEO Masayoshi Son blasted Japan on Thursday for not allowing ride-sharing services, calling it “stupid” and saying the country was lagging overseas rivals in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI). Son has also been highly critical of the government previously when SoftBank was still a fledgling telecoms service trying to break up a cosy duopoly in Japan.

The comments reflect Son’s frustration with Japan where he built SoftBank’s domestic telecoms business, the cash engine that has powered his investments. The group has, however, focused its growing range of technology investments overseas. Japan outlaws non-professional drivers from transporting paying customers on safety grounds and the country’s taxi industry lobby has vigorously opposed deregulation.

“Ride-sharing is prohibited by law in Japan. I can’t believe there is still such a stupid country. A country that gives up on the future has no future,” Son said at an annual company event aimed at cus…

Britain announced its first launch site for the space market

Tinuku - UK on Monday ran an important leap for the construction of the first vertical launch space launch site. The proposed space port at Sutherland in the north of Scotland has been awarded US$3.3 million in funding by the government-owned UK Space Agency to develop a ground-breaking launch site.

Government Business Secretary Greg Clark Monday launched the start of a Great British Space Age that will see vertically-launched space rockets and satellites take off from the new spaceport. UK Space Agency said it selected the Sutherland site because Scotland is the best place in Britain to reach highly sought-after satellite orbits with vertically launched rockets.

The initial funding will go to Scotland's Highlands and Islands Enterprise agency to develop the Sutherland site which will use a combination of proven and innovative rocket technologies to pave the way for a world-leading spaceflight market.

The UK Space Agency is also making available a new 2.65 million U.S. dollar fund…

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