Company Briefs: Farmers Business Network

Agriculture technology company Farmers Business Network (FBN) said on Thursday that it had gained a valuation of US$3.9 billion (S$5.3 billion) after a funding round led by Fidelity Management & Research Company.

FBN raised US$300 million in the funding round, with participation from US grain merchant Archer-Daniels-Midland, LN Mittal Family Office, Colle Capital Partners, Walleye Capital and Tudor Investment Corp, among others. The start-up, founded in 2014, has a data-driven platform that allows farmers to make decisions on seeds and agronomics.

REUTERS

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Weibo

Chinese social media company Weibo Corporation has received approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange's listing committee to sell shares in the city, according to regulatory filings, giving it a secondary listing alongside New York.

Weibo did not specify how much China's largest microblogging platform is looking to raise in the secondary listing, nor a timetable for the sale. Its New York-listed stock is up 1.88 per cent for the year to date, and it has a market capitalisation of US$9.5 billion (S$12.9 billion). Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group holds a 7.14 per cent stake in the firm.

REUTERS

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Crown Resorts

Blackstone Group has raised its offer for Crown Resorts to A$8.5 billion (S$8.4 billion). The US buyout firm's latest offer values Crown shares at A$12.50 each, a 26 per cent premium to Thursday's closing price. Crown, which had rejected two previous bids as too low, said yesterday that it has yet to form a view on the merits of the new proposal.

Crown was last month given two years to address a litany of wrongdoing to save its flagship Melbourne casino after an inquiry found that it had underpaid taxes, facilitated money laundering and exploited problem gamblers.

BLOOMBERG