Reuters report，According to sources，Japanese SoftBank Group is planning to issue an invitation to 188bet online sports betting，SoftBank plans to acquire part of 188bet online sports betting at a valuation of US billion，The offer price is nearly 30% lower than the company’s valuation of .5 billion in its most recent financing round。

According to recent news from TechCrunch，SoftBank’s offer price is 32 per share.USD 96，188bet online sports betting’s market value at this price is less than billion，Based on the valuation of 188bet online sports betting’s Series G financing last year at US.5 billion，188bet online sports betting price per share is 48.USD 77。In addition，SoftBank has confirmed receipt of venture capital institution Benchmark、Intention of Monero Ventures and other early investors to sell shares。

This investment plan was approved by 188bet online sports betting’s board of directors in October，It is expected to bring many changes to 188bet online sports betting’s corporate governance structure，Because it will limit the voting rights of some early investors，The number of board seats will increase from 11 to 17，Former CEO of UberTravis Kalanick (Travis Kalanick)'s influence will also be weakened.According to the agreement reached by both parties，188bet online sports betting can acquire up to billion worth of shares from existing shareholders。

This investment plan and board of directors resolution are supported by 188bet online sports betting’s new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi，This is also a change that 188bet online sports betting made after experiencing a series of scandals in 2017，The latest scandal to come to light is that company executives covered up a major hacking incident that occurred in 2016。

According to sources，This time it is sponsored by SoftBank Group and Delong Investment Group (DragoneerinvestmentGroup)-led investment consortium SoftBank plans to acquire at least 14% of the ride-hailing company，SoftBank has issued a public offer to 188bet online sports betting on the 28th，Existing 188bet online sports betting investors have 20 working days to respond to this offer。

if 32 per share.Not enough sellers found for bid，SoftBank may also raise the price to achieve its acquisition target of 14% stake。In addition，SoftBank is expected to invest billion in 188bet online sports betting alone at the company’s current valuation of .5 billion。

It is reported，The investment consortium led by 188bet online sports betting will obtain two board seats，The other four are independent director seats。According to TechCrunch report on the 29th，Sequoia Capital、Private equity investment institutions TPG and Tencent are also interested in participating in the tender offer。

Another source familiar with the transaction disclosed，188bet online sports betting’s quotation is consistent with the price expected by investors。Research institutionPitchBook statistics display，SoftBank’s offer is close to 188bet online sports betting’s 2015 valuation，At that time, investors valued 188bet online sports betting at billion，The stock price is close to per share。

Even if the valuation is discounted by nearly 30%，188bet online sports betting remains the world’s second-largest private venture-backed company after Didi Chuxing with a valuation of US billion。Also，This tender offer is also a great opportunity for early investors to cash out and get huge returns，Company employees can also take this opportunity to sell securities that are currently not tradable on the market。As reported by TechCrunch，Only 188bet online sports betting employees who hold at least 10,000 vested shares are eligible to sell their shares。Other 188bet online sports betting shareholders，Including venture investors、Angel investor、Resigned 188bet online sports betting employees are also eligible to sell their shares。

However，Many employees do not meet the criteria for selling stock，According to company policy，188bet online sports betting employees with an annual salary of less than 0,000 must be worth million (including stock value) to be eligible to sell their shares。In other words，You need to be rich enough to make more money。Although buyeratNearly all secondary market transactions in which new investors purchase shares of existing shareholders，The valuation of the 188bet online sports betting involved will be more or less discounted。

But，Phil Haslett, head and co-founder of secondary market investment platform EquityZen said，188bet online sports betting will go public in 2019，Its shares are now on sale at a 30% discount，This discount is quite big。Generally speaking，The valuation of a company of this size has dropped significantly，Usually it’s because the company is forced to sell at a deep discount，188bet online sports betting obviously does not fit this situation。

“The main consideration is the rethinking of 188bet online sports betting’s value，”Haslett said.

Since 188bet online sports betting was valued at .5 billion a year ago，The company encountered a series of scandals including sexual harassment of company executives against Park。The company is also under federal criminal investigation for allegedly using software to deceive regulators and bribing governments in Asia。In addition，188bet online sports betting was sued by Waymo, the self-driving business company of Google parent company Alphabet，Accused the company of plagiarizing its top-secret trading information。

The latest scandal is，188bet online sports betting revealed that the data of its 57 million users and 600,000 drivers was stolen more than a year ago，Company says it paid two hackers 0,000 to delete stolen data。Since then，Many governments around the world have begun investigating this data breach。After this scandal，Some people think that SoftBank will take this opportunity to negotiate more favorable terms。

But 188bet online sports betting said last week，The company informed SoftBank of the data breach before issuing the notification。However，"We only had preliminary information at the time，Not comprehensive enough，” a spokesperson said。

A source familiar with the matter said，SoftBank’s offer when negotiating with 188bet online sports betting should have taken the data breach into account。

*188bet online sports betting article was compiled from The Independent by Li Haiqiang, an analyst at Hui Hui、TechCrunch，Original title: "188bet online sports betting may have just lost .5bn in value》.