TOKYO: SoftBank said on Tuesday it would invest $627 million (Dh2.3 billion) in Snapdeal, becoming the largest shareholder in India’s leading online marketplace as the Japanese mobile carrier strengthens its presence in the fast-growing market.

The announcement comes on the heals of a pledge made during a visit by the company’s chairman to New Delhi Monday to pump about $10 billion into India over the coming years.

The deal with Snapdeal is expected to be completed by the end of November, said a SoftBank spokeswoman in Tokyo.

“With this investment, the SoftBank group will become Snapdeal’s largest shareholder,” she said, without disclosing further details.

Snapdeal is India’s fastest-growing and largest e-commerce website, with more than 25 million registered users and over 50,000 business sellers.

The New Delhi-based company, which has annual sales of $1.0 billion, has raised $350 million since its founding in 2010.

But after the latest round of funding from SoftBank and others, Snapdeal’s valuation will rise to an estimated $2.0 billion.

“Snapdeal is thrilled and honoured to have SoftBank as a strategic partner,” co-founder and chief executive Kunal Bahl said in a statement.

“We are confident we will further strengthen our promise to consumers and create life-changing experiences for one million small businesses in India.”

Other investors in Snapdeal, which is backed by eBay, include Indian tycoon Ratan Tata, Singapore state-owned investment company Temasek and asset management firm BlackRock.

SoftBank, which made headlines last year after its more than $21 billion takeover of US wireless giant Sprint, said the Snapdeal acquisition was aimed at boosting its presence in the booming Indian online market.

“We believe that India is at a turning point in its development and have confidence that India will grow strongly over the next decade,” SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son said in a statement.

“As part of this belief, we intend to deploy significant capital in India over the next few years to support development of the market,” he added.

Son met Indian Telecoms and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad during a visit to New Delhi on Monday, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During the meeting, Son said his company plans to invest some $10 billion in India in the coming years, saying India is a top priority for SoftBank, according to a statement released by the Indian government.

India’s online retail industry, valued at $1.0 billion just two years ago, is expected to hit $32 billion in sales in 2020, according to retail consultancy Technopak.

Separately, SoftBank also said Tuesday it would jointly invest $210 million in India’s ANI Technologies, better known as Ola Cabs, which provides a marketplace connecting consumers and taxi drivers through mobile apps, the web and call centres.

“Ola’s current shareholders will join the investment but SoftBank will take the lead,” another SoftBank spokeswoman said, without elaborating.

SoftBank is a holding company that boasts more than 1,300 subsidiaries and affiliates involved in a range of mobile communications, fixed-line communications and internet services.

It holds about one-third of Chinese online giant Alibaba and has said it would probably book a gain of about $4.6 billion from the firm’s initial public offering, which raised a record $25 billion last month.