Softbank has tapped its mammoth Vision Fund to back business financing provider Greensill with $800m.
The company, which counts former UK Prime Minister David Cameron as an advisor, will see its valuation double to about $3.5bn through the deal according to the FT, which cited unnamed people close to the deal.
Vision Fund will take a stake of between 15 and 20 per cent in Greensill, the people added.
The move comes just under a year after General Atlantic invested $250m in Greensill to value the business at $1.64bn.
Softbank said the deal underscored the value of working capital finance as the most advanced means of providing low cost capital to companies large and small, while opening up a new asset class to global investors.
The worldwide market for working capital finance is valued at $55tn according to the latest research by Greensill, while only a small fraction of that opportunity has been accessed.
Traditional banks typically offer working capital finance to a limited number of large clients, but Greensill says its differentiated technology-driven approach opens the market to all companies no matter their size, scope or location based on a sophisticated, data-driven model.
Lex Greensill, the founder and chief exec of the business, said, “Greensill democratises access to capital using technology and the financial markets.
“We are agents of technological disruption with a mission to make available finance at the lowest possible cost for our clients and their suppliers, whilst opening up a whole new asset class to global investors.”
Greensill said it also planned to accelerate its recent entry into Brazil, as well as enter multiple global markets including China and India.
Colin Fan, managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers said, “Greensill is a strong market leader in working capital finance and has played a pioneering role in the technological revolution that has transformed the industry.
“Through this new partnership, we see immense opportunity to introduce working capital finance to a new generation of businesses around the world.”
Copyright © 2019 FinTech Global
