In brief: Rakuten bags $990m from Lyft IPO

• Japanese ecommerce giant Rakuten said it will book a US$990 million gain in the quarter through March on its investment in Lyft following the US ride-hailing firm’s listing last week.
• With a 13 percent stake, Rakuten became Lyft’s largest shareholder ahead of the IPO.
• Lyft shares closed 9 percent higher at US$78.29 in their market debut on Friday, giving the loss-making firm a market capitalization of around US$22.2 billion.
• Rakuten’s shares have climbed 38 percent this year on rising investor expectations of returns on its tech investments, which also include ride-hailing startup Careem – acquired by Lyft rival Uber in a US$3.1 billion deal last week – image-sharing site Pinterest, and classifieds marketplace Carousell.

Source: Reuters