The Info Edge stock closed 2.76% higher in trade today after the firm said that it inked an agreement with SoftBank to jointly invest $90 million in Etechaces Marketing and Consulting, the parent of PolicyBazaar, for an 8.93% stake on a fully diluted basis. The stock closed at 1208 level, higher by 32.50 points on the BSE.
It rose up to 9.5% in early trade, hitting an intra day high of 1288.35 level on the BSE.
The operator of online job portal Naukri.com said, "The Company has entered into an agreement with SVF India Holdings (Cayman) ('Soft Bank'), a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Vision Fund L.P., of which SoftBank Group Corp. is a limited partner, whereby Soft Bank has agreed to invest an amount equivalent to about $ 45 million for 49.99% stake (on a fully diluted basis) in Diphda Internet Services ('Diphda'), a wholly owned-subsidiary of the Company, for the time being".
Thereby the company has also agreed to invest an amount equivalent to about $ 45 million in Diphda for 50.01% stake (on a fully diluted basis); and to jointly invest through Diphda, an amount equivalent to about $ 90 million in Etechaces Marketing & Consulting Pvt. Ltd. ('Etechaces') for 8.93% stake (on a fully diluted basis post completion of fund raise exercise with other investors), it added. Diphda is a newly incorporated wholly owned subsidiary of Info Edge.
"As part of company's strategic investments, the acquisition would help the company to consolidate its presence into the business of Insurance and financial products aggregator within the Internet Services Industry," Info Edge said.
The Info Edge stock rose 22.26% during the last one year but fell more than 12% since the beginning of this year.
Info Edge reported a net loss of Rs 13.7 crore on a standalone basis for the quarter ended March 2018. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 32.8 crore in the year-ago period.
The company's total income, however, increased 19.7% to Rs 263.1 crore for the fourth quarter of 2017-18 as against Rs 219.7 crore in the year-ago period.
For the full financial year 2017-18, Info Edge's net profit stood at Rs 500.9 crore (against a loss of Rs 42.6 crore), while total income was up about 11% to Rs 1,077 crore from Rs 970.4 crore in financial year 2016-17 on a consolidated basis.
Info Edge (India) Ltd also runs Jeevansathi.com, 99acres.com and Shiksha.com as well as Quadrangle (an offline executive search business).
Apart from this, Info Edge has also invested into emerging internet companies like Zomato, Meritnation, Policybazaar, Canvera and Happily Unmarried. With its headquarters in Noida, the company employs around 4,000 people and has a presence in India, Dubai, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.