Axiata Group Berhad’s subsidiary ADA has formed an alliance with SoftBank Corp. The alliance will see Softbank invest RM250 million in ADA to expand and accelerate the Group’s analytics, data, and AI digital marketing business in the region.
Following the investment, Softbank will hold 23.07 percent shareholding of ADA, establishing ADA’s valuation at RM1.07 billion.
Axiata Digital Services remains the majority shareholder of ADA at 63.47 percent.
This alliance also allows SoftBank to expand their footprint in the region by bringing its customer data platform (CDP), ‘Treasure Data’; and the consumer base of its communication app, ‘LINE’ for the benefit of brands and marketers.
“Now serving over 1300 clients in the region, ADA’s revenue tripled since its launch three years ago, recording positive EBITDA in the last two years. Together with our existing Sumitomo partnership, we can expect this strategic alliance to further fuel ADA’s growth momentum within the region as it unlocks synergistic opportunities that will form one of the pillars to deliver on Axiata’s Digital Champion ambition,” said Axiata’s President & Group Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Izzaddin Idris
SoftBank Corp. Representative Director & Chairman, Ken Miyauchi commented, “This alliance with ADA heralds a new theme in this growth strategy as it will enable us to deploy our digital marketing business outside Japan by leveraging ADA’s presence in Asia as a leading data and AI company. We look forward to collaborating closely with the ADA team so we can help companies in the Asia-Pacific region accelerate the digital transformation of their businesses.”