Microblogging site Twitter Inc. may invest more than $50 million (Rs 346 crore) in Indian vernacular social networking app ShareChat, a media report said.
Twitter's investment will likely be part of a $100 million round of funding, The Economic Times reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
The funding round may value ShareChat around $600-650 million, the report said.
Another new investor, Hong Kong-based investment management firm Hillhouse Capital, is also likely to join the round, the report said. It added that existing investors such as Xiaomi, Shunwei Capital and Morningside Venture Capital may also invest.
The fresh capital may help ShareChat fight Chinese rival ByteDance, which has rapidly expanded in India.
ShareChat, operated by Bengaluru-based Mohalla Tech Pvt. Ltd, was founded in 2015. It had last raised around $100 million in a funding round led by Shunwei Capital in September 2018.
In another development, billionaire Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel Ltd is weighing options to acquire British Steel Ltd after being approached by its liquidation advisor EY, Mint reported.
Citing a person aware of the development, Mint said JSW is examining the proposal and is yet to put in a formal bid.
British Steel has 3 million tonnes of steel-making capacity in Scunthorpe, UK, and rolling mills across the UK, France and the Netherlands.
The Scunthorpe mill, a loss-making facility was sold by Tata Group to Greybull Capital in 2016 for a token amount of £1. According to an industry analyst, JSW may cherrypick a few assets of British Steel if it gets a good valuation.
JSW has previously struck a few acquisitions outside India. In May 2018, it bought Italy’s second-largest steel plant Aferpi for Rs 600 crore. In June, it committed nearly Rs 3,400 crore to acquire and upgrade US-based integrated steel plant Acero Junction.
