Alibaba To Raise $5 Billion In Largest Corporate Deal In Asia Pacific - 1

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Alibaba To Raise $5 Billion In Largest Corporate Deal In Asia Pacific

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert

The Chinese giant Alibaba is in negotiations to raise $5 billion in a multicurrency bond sales deal, which would be the biggest corporate deal in the Asia Pacific this year.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • Reuters reported Alibaba is expecting to raise $5 billion in funding
  • The e-commerce giant is negotiating two bond sales, one in U.S. dollars and another one in Chinese yuans
  • The company’s recent quarter results showed a 5% increase in revenue, totaling $33,701 million

According to Reuters , anonymous sources familiar with the matter showed the news agency documentation with the terms for bond sales—a type of debt instrument.

The multinational technology conglomerate is negotiating a multiple tranches agreement in dollars and another one in yuans.

Alibaba confirmed this Monday that it is planning on raising funds with bonds but didn’t share details of the deals.

If the deals go through, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), the funding would become the largest bond deal in the Asia Pacific in the industry.

Last Friday, the e-commerce giant shared its quarter results 2024 for the past period, showing steady growth and a 5% increase in revenue, totaling $33,701 million.

“We are more confident in our core businesses than ever and will continue to invest in supporting long-term growth,” said Eddie Wu, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group in a public statement.

With the new investment, Alibaba expects to use the cash to repay debts and other corporate requirements.

According to Benzinga , the e-commerce giant expects to get lower interest rates with the bond deals to restore or increase its financial capital and resources. This could allow Alibaba to buy back shares and make strategic investments without compromising its financial resources.

Alibaba has also joined the AI boom, the Chinese tech giant recently released over 100 new open-source AI models and text-to-video AI tools.

Indian Startup HealthKart Raises $153 Million To Expand Platform - 2

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Indian Startup HealthKart Raises $153 Million To Expand Platform

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

  • The health and fitness platform HealthKart recently raised $153 million in a funding round
  • The Startup’s last valuation was at $350 million and it has now reached a $500 million valuation
  • The supplement and health products sales have significantly increased

The Indian startup HealthKart, a health and fitness platform, raised $153 million in a recent round and reached a $500 million valuation.

According to TechCrunch , the funding round was led by Motilal Oswal and ChrysCapital, and Avendus Capital as a financial advisor, two sources close to the case confirmed the deal.

HealthKart also announced an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) plan, offering its employees to buy back shares for the first time.

“We welcome ChrysCapital and Motilal Oswal to HealthKart and hope to leverage their expertise during the next phase of growth. Very excited about our first ESOP buyback program which will create meaningful value for people who have played a critical role in building HealthKart,” said Sameer Maheshwari, CEO and co-founder of HealthKart according to Business Standard.

HealthKart was valued at $350 in 2022 and reported a year revenue of $118.5 million in March. The company’s sales of health accessories and supplements have been on the rise and is currently India’s top nutrition platform.

“The Indian sports nutrition market, currently underpenetrated, is expected to expand due to a rise in fitness awareness and the increasing importance of nutrition and protein,” said Arpit Vinayak, VP at ChrysCapital, in a statement.

The Gurugram-based startup was founded in 2011, by Prashant Tandon and Sameer Maheshwari and now offers a wide range of products from vitamins and proteins to training tools and machines, and also has its own in-house brands, HKVitals and MuscleBlaze. HealthKart has more than 200 stores across 90 cities, as reported by Mint .

Other startups in the healthcare industry have also been growing and expanding. The health fintech PayZen recently raised $232 Million in a series B round, and the UK startup Zoe raised $15 million in July to expand to the U.S.