Cash-stripped SoftBank turns to Apollo-led group for $4bn loan December 21, 2021 Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is turning to a group of investors led by private equity giant Apollo Global Management for a $4bn loan as it scrambles to recover its cash on hand after a series of portfolio setbacks. A group including Apollo, SoftBank’s insurance affiliate Athene Holding, and other investors including financial institutions, mutual funds and [...]
Triple whammy: SoftBank shares slide 3.5 per cent after rocky 24 hours for Didi, Arm and Grab investments December 3, 2021 Shares in Japanese conglomerate Softbank sank as much as 3.5 per cent today after three of its high-profile investments Didi, Arm and Grab were hit with setbacks in the last 24 hours. The investment giant’s shares dropped as low as 5,423 yen ($47.89) today, before settling slightly higher, but with losses of 23 per cent [...]
SoftBank caves in to investor pressure and launches $9bn share buyback November 8, 2021 SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has pledged as much as ¥1tn ($8.8bn) through a new share buyback programme over the next 12 months, in a bid to get investors back on side after the group’s Vision Fund unit plummeted to a record quarterly loss. Pressure had been mounting among SoftBank’s largest shareholders – including activist hedge [...]
SoftBank-backed AI startup Peak raises $75m in second funding round in six months August 31, 2021 Manchester-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) provider Peak will expand into new global markets after raising $75m in its latest funding round, led by SoftBank’s $100bn Vision Fund Two. Peak AI, which sells its “decision intelligence” enterprise software platform to non-tech companies to help with their operations, plans to use the latest raise to double its workforce [...]
SoftBank-backed Indian Uber rival Ola tables plans for $1bn IPO August 31, 2021 Indian Uber rival Ola is reportedly sitting on plans to raise up to $1bn through an initial public offering (IPO), joining a long line of high-ranking floats in the country. Currently finalising banks to advise on the fund-raise, Softbank-backed Ola is in talks with Bank of America and JP Morgan, three people familiar with the [...]
SoftBank ramps up exits to fund prolific Vision Fund dealmaking August 18, 2021 The Japanese investment giant sold around $14bn worth of listed stocks last quarter, marking a change in its exit-hesitant strategy in order to fund its Vision Fund’s accelerating investments in tech startups. SoftBank sold an estimated $14bn worth of listed stocks in the last quarter – almost triple that of the previous period, according to [...]
SoftBank to pause investment in China as tech crackdown withers shares August 10, 2021 SoftBank will take a “wait and see” approach and pause its investments in Chinese tech startups until Beijing’s current regulatory crackdown on the sector calms, chief executive Masayoshi Son said on Tuesday. Son hoped the situation will be resolved and new rules for the sector would be introduced within “a year or two”, but still [...]
SoftBank injects $100m into former partner’s new consumer tech fund August 5, 2021 SoftBank Vision Fund II plans to invest $100m in a new consumer tech fund launched by one of its former managing partners Jeff Housenbold, the latest in a string of tech investments in the past few weeks. SoftBank’s second Vision Fund’s $100m investment will form up to a fifth of the $500m to $600m that [...]
SoftBank-backed Policybazaar files for IPO amid Indian digital economy boom August 2, 2021 Online insurance marketplace Policybazaar is to embark on an initial public offering that could rally $809m if it secures the loftier end of its price range. The SoftBank-backed startup follows a string of other tech-based emerging companies preparing to ride India’s booming digital economy wave. Policybazaar will sell off new shares, according to a public notice published [...]
Softbank’s bet on Chinese app Didi falls $4bn into the red July 26, 2021 Softbank’s bumper bet on Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi has plunged $4bn (£2.9bn) into the red as authorities in Beijing crack down on the app following its New York stock market float. The Japanese conglomerate took a 2.1 per cent stake in Didi worth $11.8bn in 2019, but its shareholding is now worth just $7.8bn, the [...]