SoftBank buys 10.1% stake in Sinch after its meteoric surge

[TOKYO] SoftBank Group has agreed to acquire a 10th of Swedish cloud-based platform provider Sinch, making it a significant shareholder in a company that's seen its stock price soar about 300 per cent this year.

Sinch's co-founders are selling 5.2 million shares to SoftBank. Through a subsidiary, SB Management, SoftBank also subscribed to an additional 1.2 million shares in the Stockholm-based company.

The 10.1 per cent stake SoftBank now holds, bought at a discount, is worth just over US$800 million, based on Sinch's current market value. Its stock price gained as much as 7.8 per cent on Tuesday.

Sinch has seen its fortunes transformed this year, turning it into the best performing company on the Stoxx Europe 600 index as users flocked to its services during the pandemic. It's one of a number of tech firms to have thrived during lockdowns as consumers relied more than ever on virtual communication to stay in touch with their employers, friends and families.

The company's share sale raised 3.3 billion kronor (S$518.3 million), which it intends to mainly use to increase its "financial flexibility for new acquisitions," according to Monday's statement. "Sinch is continuously evaluating potential acquisitions," it said.

BLOOMBERG