Softbank has written off $550mn investment in Ola and Snapdeal, the company said in its six monthly earnings report.
Gain or loss arising from financial instruments at FVTPL* comprises mainly changes in fair value of preferred stock investment including embedded derivatives, such as ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd and Jasper Infotech Private Limited in India, designated as financial assets at FVTPL.
Loss from financial instruments at FVTPL was ¥58,140 million compared to a gain of ¥112,625 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year. This was mainly due to a loss recorded as the amount of changes in the fair value of the Company’s investments in India, from March 31, 2016 (the “previous fiscal year-end”) to September 30, 2016 (the “end of the second quarter”). Of this, ¥29,622 million was recorded as a loss arising from the yen’s year-on-year appreciation.
Softbank : On a loss
Softbank has reported a loss of ¥58.1 billion for the 6 month period ending 30 September 2016 compared to a gain of ¥112.6 billion in the year-ago period. Largely, this is driven by ARM acquisition.
Ola is in the market to raise $600mn+ and is now asking the govt to step in and block its ‘foreign funded’ competitor’s predatory pricing strategy.
Note that Softbank wrote off Inmobi too in the past.
*FVTPL = fair value through profit or loss.
