May 10, 2011

[All Things Digital] Gilt Groupe Raises $138 Million from Softbank and Others for Growth, Acquisitions

All Things Digital 5/8/2011
Gilt Groupe, the New York-based flash-sales site that offers discounts on apparel, travel, home decor and other categories, has raised a whopping $138 million in capital.

Participants in the fifth round include the Japanese-based telecom conglomerate Softbank Group as well as Gilt’s previous investors, General Atlantic and Matrix Partners. Other new investors include: Goldman Sachs, New Enterprise Associates, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth, Pinnacle Ventures, TriplePoint Capital and Eastward Capital.

Softbank’s involvement is two-fold.

Not only will it be contributing $62.5 million of the round, which will all be going toward Gilt’s U.S. operations, it will also invest a smaller undisclosed amount into Gilt Groupe Japan. The two companies will each own 50 percent of the joint venture.

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memo
  • eCommerce is one of SoftBank's target area especially in China. It linked Yahoo Japan's shopping mall with Alibaba last year and recently announced to found joint venture in Shanghai with ZOZOTOWN, fashion EC. The investment in and partnership with Gilt Group may not only aim Japanese market, but also to expand the service in other Asian countries including China. 

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