Update: SoftBank Internet and Media Inc (SIMI) has officially confirmed (pdf) that SoftBank Group is investing $627 million in Snapdeal. With this investment, SIMI mentions that SoftBank Group is now the largest investor in Snapdeal. SIMI CEO Nikesh Arora is joining the company board as part of the investment. Snapdeal claims to currently have more than 25 million registered users and more than 50,000 merchants. It also claims to offer more than 5 million products across more than 500 categories. Along with Snapdeal, SoftBank also confirmed that it is leading a $210 million investment into the online cab booking service Olacabs. The company has committed an investment of $10 billion into India’s information technology (IT) and communications segment, reports PTI. Earlier (Oct 15): Online marketplace Snapdeal is close to raising $600-$650 million from its existing investors, reports Reuters, citing three sources involved in the fundraising. MediaNama's sources have indicated that Snapdeal is raising $650 million, at a valuation of $1.2 billion. The fund raising is expected to announced next week. Snapdeal, on being contacted by MediaNama, said that "This is speculation and we don’t comment on speculations." We had asked Snapdeal to confirm whether it is raising funds from Softbank, and whether the funding amount is $650 million. Snapdeal has raised over $300 million in funding as yet including the $100 million from Temasek Holdings and others in May, $133.7 million from eBay and others in February, $50 million from existing investors in June 2013 and $52 million in 2011 in separate rounds of funding fromBessemer Ventures Partners, Indo-US Venture Partners and Nexus Venture Partners. Snapdeal is…
