Japan’s SoftBank Group has taken a 9.7% stake in educational gaming company Kahoot by investing 1.98 billion Norwegian crowns ($216 million) in new equity, the Norwegian company said on Tuesday.
Kahoot’s online platform of games-based learning and entertainment was growing fast before the coronavirus pandemic and has seen rapid expansion this year as schools and firms adopted online education tools.
Kahoot’s share price jumped 17.8% in early trade, hitting a record 58.5 crowns on the news. The shares have risen 179% so far this year.
The new cash will help the company fund its expansion plans, which could include mergers or acquisitions, details of the transaction showed.
“SoftBank will strengthen (Kahoot’s) shareholder base as an investor with deep expertise and experience owning and developing software companies,” the Oslo-listed firm said in a statement.
The new shares were sold to a unit of Softbank at 46 crowns each, a 7.3% discount to Monday’s closing price of 49.65 crowns.
Brokers ABG Sundal Collier, Arctic Securities and Goldman Sachs International advised Kahoot on the deal.
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