Softbank Group 4% Call 19.09.2029 ISIN XS1684385591

SoftBank nominates Arm CEO Haas to join its board
Oggi 11:25 - RSF
TOKYO, April 27 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp nominated chip designer Arm Ltd's Chief Executive Rene Haas as a candidate to be a director, the Japanese technology investor said on Thursday.

The conglomerate regards Arm, whose technology underpins the smartphone industry and is used in supercomputers and data centre servers, as its core asset. It bought the British-based company for $32 billion in 2016.

Arm said in March it would pursue a listing in the United States, dashing British government hopes it would return to the London stock market.

SoftBank founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son said last year his company will likely remain a dominant shareholder in Arm even after the planned listing.

Haas's appointment is subject to approval at SoftBank's annual shareholders' meeting scheduled for June 21.

A SoftBank spokesperson said the company hopes Haas will use his "ample knowledge and experience in technology matters" in his post on the board.



(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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Il gigante britannico dei chip Arm presenta domanda di IPO negli USA​

Il
produttore di semiconduttori Arm ha presentato un'offerta pubblica iniziale di azioni di deposito negli Stati Uniti, secondo una bozza di dichiarazione di registrazione pubblicata lunedì dalla società madre SoftBank Group.

"La dimensione e l'intervallo di prezzo dell'offerta proposta non sono ancora stati determinati. L'offerta pubblica iniziale è soggetta alle condizioni di mercato e ad altre condizioni e al completamento del processo di revisione della SEC", ha aggiunto SoftBank. Sebbene SoftBank intenda mantenere Arm come sua controllata consolidata dopo il completamento della proposta di quotazione, non si aspetta che tale offerta abbia un effetto rilevante sui risultati finanziari di Arm.

Secondo la BBC, la quotazione pubblica mira a garantire fino a 10 miliardi di dollari di finanziamenti aggiuntivi. L'imminente IPO è in linea con i piani di Arm di collaborare con partner di produzione e di iniziare a vendere i suoi semiconduttori direttamente ai consumatori invece che ad altri giganti della tecnologia.
 
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SoftBank investors focus on Arm IPO at Q4 earnings

SoftBank Group Corp reports earnings on Thursday amid an uptick in some stocks held by its Vision Fund unit, and with the market thirsty for details on its upcoming listing of Arm aimed at bolstering the investment company's balance sheet.
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2 minute readMay 10, 20237:56 AM GMT+2Last Updated 12 hours ago

SoftBank investors focus on Arm IPO at Q4 earnings​

By Sam Nussey
and Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO, May 10 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) reports earnings on Thursday amid an uptick in some stocks held by its Vision Fund unit, and with the market thirsty for details on its upcoming listing of Arm aimed at bolstering the investment company's balance sheet.
The fourth-quarter earnings come after the Vision Fund unit posted four consecutive quarters of investment loss, with investors debating whether the value of privately held stakes have further to fall.

"The public side did well but questions linger about the private side because we don't have a lot of visibility on that," said analyst Kirk Boodry at Astris Advisory Japan.
"They have some cushion to have writedowns," he said.
Portfolio firms of the Vision Fund unit whose shares climbed during January-March include e-commerce firm Coupang Inc (CPNG.N) and robotics firm AutoStore Holdings Ltd (AUTO.OL).

Fallers include office sharing company WeWork Inc (WE.N).
SoftBank filed with regulators confidentially for a U.S. listing of chip designer Arm last month through which it is seeking to raise $8 billion to $10 billion later this year, Reuters reported previously.
A buoyant listing would bolster CEO Masayoshi Son's investing credentials, and provide an important capital injection for his group which has scaled back investing activity after its portfolio was battered by falling tech valuations.
SoftBank has been reducing its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) to raise capital.
"The earnings are not very meaningful. What matters is Arm for SoftBank to demonstrate it can get results as an investment company," said SMBC Nikko Securities analyst Satoru Kikuchi.
Semiconductor stocks were hit hard during a market rout last year but have since rebounded, with the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index (.SOX) up 17% year-to-date.

Shares in chipmaker Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), whose bid to buy Arm foundered on regulatory opposition, have almost doubled this year.
Still, SoftBank executives are unlikely to offer meaningful new information about the Arm listing on Thursday, Kikuchi said.
Reporting by Sam Nussey and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Christopher Cushing
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
 

SoftBank registra una perdita netta annuale di 7,18 miliardi di dollari​


l gigante degli investimenti giapponese SoftBank Group Corp. ha pubblicato giovedì i risultati degli utili per il suo quarto trimestre fiscale del 2022, riportando una perdita netta annuale di $ 7,18 miliardi (¥ 970,1 miliardi).
La perdita è arrivata dopo un calo del valore degli investimenti tecnologici dell'azienda, con il Nasdaq 100 in calo di circa l'11% durante l'anno fiscale di SoftBank. Il gigante Vision Fund ha registrato una perdita record di 32 miliardi di dollari (4,3 trilioni di yen).
Le vendite nette di SoftBank sono aumentate del 5,6% nell'anno conclusosi il 31 marzo, raggiungendo i 48,65 miliardi di dollari (6,57 trilioni di yen), mentre la perdita diluita per azione è arrivata a 4,90 dollari (662,41 yen).
 
Ultima modifica:
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SoftBank books narrower loss after Alibaba stake sell-down

Japan's SoftBank Group Corp on Thursday posted a sharply narrower annual loss after a capital raise using its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd helped cushion investment loss at its Vision Fund investing arm.
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SoftBank books narrower loss after Alibaba stake sell-down
By Sam Nussey and Kiyoshi Takenaka
Summary
Companies
Vision Fund unit booked FY Y5.28 trln yen investment loss
Vision Fund booked fifth consecutive quarter of investment loss
SoftBank doesn't want to miss investment opportunities -exec
TOKYO, May 11 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) on Thursday posted a sharply narrower annual loss after a capital raise using its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) helped cushion investment loss at its Vision Fund investing arm.

SoftBank reported a net loss of 970 billion yen ($7.18 billion) for the year ended March 31, compared with a 1.7 trillion yen loss in the same period a year earlier.

CEO Masayoshi Son's attempt to bestride the tech investing industry has suffered a series of high-profile reversals after outsized bets through SoftBank's first Vision Fund turned sour and investments made at bubbly valuations via a smaller second fund slumped.

With key architects of that strategy having left, Son has focused on shoring up the balance sheet, cutting his stake in e-commerce giant Alibaba and stepping back from trademark presentations to focus on the listing of chip designer Arm.

The Vision Fund unit booked an investment loss for the full year of 5.28 trillion yen. The investing arm booked its fifth consecutive quarter of investment loss in January-March, albeit a smaller loss than in previous quarters.

Assets gaining during the quarter include e-commerce retailer Coupang Inc (CPNG.N) and robotics company AutoStore Holdings Ltd (AUTO.OL), with office-share company WeWork Inc (WE.N) among the fallers.

SoftBank wrote down the value of private portfolio companies in both the first and second funds. At the end of March, the second fund's portfolio was worth $31 billion compared with an acquisition cost of $49.9 billion.

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo
The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
SoftBank has said it is in defence mode, putting investing activity on the backburner with the Vision Fund unit striking just 25 new deals over the past year.

Looking to bolster its capital buffers, SoftBank raised $35.46 billion through prepaid forward contracts using Alibaba shares during the fiscal year. A further $4.1 billion was raised through forward contracts for the period after April 1, 2023.

With the uptick in some tech stock prices, investor attention has turned to how long SoftBank will maintain its holding pattern.

Referring to the rise of new technology such as generative artificial intelligence (AI), "We need to look at whether we should stick to our defensive strategy, or whether we should also be on offence," SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto told a news briefing.

"We don't want to miss investment opportunities," Goto, a long-time Son lieutenant, said.

The Vision Fund unit emphasises that it holds stakes in companies including Arm and short video app TikTok parent ByteDance worth some $37 billion ready to go public in the future.

Investors are focused on the potential for further buybacks. SoftBank's shares closed down 0.85% ahead of earnings and have fallen almost 9% this year.

As the emergence of AI generates global excitement and debate, Goto said Son had also been excited by the new technology.
 
UPDATE 1-SoftBank exploring offering credit funds to tech startups- sources
Oggi 06:17 - RSF
(Adds background)
By Krystal Hu and Manya Saini
May 22 (Reuters) - SoftBank Investment Advisers, which manages two Vision Funds, is exploring launching a private credit strategy that provides debt or debt-like structured financing for late-stage tech startups, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The fund aims to offer liquidity options to tech startups, including some of SoftBank's own portfolios, amid a slow venture funding environment and a weak market for IPO exits. It targets returns in the mid-teens, one of the sources added.

The plan, which was still in its early stage and could change, was first reported by Bloomberg News earlier on Monday.

SoftBank declined a Reuters request to comment.

In recent weeks, several major investment and private equity firms have stepped in to fill the chasm created in tech funding, especially debt financing, by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March.

Japan's SoftBank Group Corp , a prolific investor in high-growth technology firms, will be able to tap the rapidly growing private credit market and provide capital for pre-IPO companies that need to survive for longer in a much harder environment to raise new capital.

Earlier this month, the company posted a sharply narrower annual loss after a capital raise using its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd helped cushion investment loss at its Vision Fund investing arm, which has been hammered by the underperformance of major investments such as office-sharing firm WeWork Inc and ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc.

Vision Funds' portfolio includes neobank Chime and Revolut.

SoftBank is nearing the end of deploying the $56 billion capital in Vision Fund 2.

Chipmaker Arm Ltd, owned by SoftBank Group, last month filed confidentially for a U.S. stock market listing, setting the stage for one of the biggest tech IPOs in the U.S. this year.



(Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York and Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Stephen Coates)
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UPDATE 2-SoftBank questions S&P after it cuts rating deeper into junk
24/05/2023 11:28 - RSF
(Adds comment in paragraphs 3 and 9)
By Sam Nussey
TOKYO, May 23 (Reuters) - S&P Global Ratings cut SoftBank Group Corp's long-term rating deeper into junk territory on Tuesday, leading the Japanese tech investment conglomerate to question the downgrade.

S&P lowered SoftBank's rating to BB from BB-plus, citing SoftBank's exposure to unlisted companies that are susceptible to changes in the external environment.

"There is a marked lack of rationality in the explanation," SoftBank Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto told Reuters.

SoftBank has sold down assets, including its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to stabilise its balance sheet as the value of its portfolio falters.

"(The sale of its shares) have eroded the proportion of listed assets in its portfolio. Furthermore, the technology stocks in which the company has primarily invested have been depressed for a prolonged period," S&P said in a note.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has said he would "play defence" with prudent financial management given weakness in tech valuations.

"It is extremely regrettable that our financial soundness was not properly assessed, and we will continue our dialogue with S&P," SoftBank said in a statement.

SoftBank fell out with Moody's Investors Service over its assessment of the conglomerate and in 2020 took the unusual step of asking the agency to withdraw its ratings, but Goto said its issue with S&P was smaller.

"The magnitude of the problem is totally different from Moody's," he said.

S&P said a listing for chip designer Arm, which has become a primary preoccupation for Son, would improve asset liquidity.

"We have strongly urged S&P to consider an upgrade once the proposed initial public offering of Arm is completed," SoftBank said.

(Reporting by Sam Nussey and Satoshi Sugiyama, editing by Ed Osmond and Barbara Lewis)
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BREAKINGVIEWS-SoftBank pulls rabbits out of Fortress’s hat
23/05/2023 09:33 - RSF
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)
By Anshuman Daga
SINGAPORE, May 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A three-way M&A deal sounds like a recipe for disaster. However, Masoyoshi Son’s decision to sell SoftBank Group’s entire stake in U.S. alternative asset manager Fortress Investment to cash-rich Mubadala Investment and Fortress management has something for all three.

None of them are disclosing financial details, but press reports put the valuation the struggling Japanese technology and telecoms conglomerate secured at between $2 billion and $3 billion. While that’s short of the $3.3 billion SoftBank paid six years ago, it’s better than the more than $1 billion number floating around when news of a potential sale broke almost a year ago. A sale at the top end of those estimates would value the investment firm at 7% of its assets under management, roughly in line with larger publicly traded peers Apollo Global Management (APO.N) and Ares Management (ARES.N).

While that means Mubadala would be paying a full price, it wouldn’t be over the top. The Abu Dhabi sovereign fund has some inside knowledge, too: it already owns 10% of Fortress, in addition to the credit investment partnerships it has struck with Apollo, Ares and KKR (KKR.N). On paper, all Mubadala’s credit plays should be well placed to benefit from the expected uptick in distressed debt after more than a year of multiple interest-rate hikes.

Fortress staff probably get the best part of the deal.

They’ll end up owning around 30% of their firm, will be able to appoint the majority of board members and will retain the day-to-day autonomy that SoftBank had to grant them to get the 2017 deal past the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. And deep-pocketed Mubadala may prove to be a more active backer than SoftBank: the $56 billion money-losing Japanese group found its U.S. acquisition “less interesting” after raising its own Vision fund, according to Fortress co-founder Peter Briger.

All things considered, though, for now, none of the triumvirate has much to grumble about.

Follow @anshumandaga on Twitter

CONTEXT NEWS
SoftBank Group agreed on May 22 to sell 90% of the equity it holds in Fortress Investment to Mubadala Investment Company, taking the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund’s ownership to 70% from 10%.

Employees of the US asset manager will buy the rest of SoftBank’s holdings, leaving them owning 30% of the firm.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Before the announcement, a Financial Times report estimated the deal would value Fortress at up to $3 billion. Softbank acquired its Fortress stake for $3.3 billion in cash in 2017.

Founded in 1998, Fortress managed $45.8 billion of assets under management as of the end of December 2022, on behalf of more than 1,900 investors worldwide across credit, real estate and private equity funds.

(Editing by Antony Currie and Thomas Shum)
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