Daily Times

TOKYO: SoftBank Group Corp said on Wednesday that it wants to list its Japanese telecoms unit this year as CEO Masayoshi Son moves to complete the transformation of the company he founded from domestic telecoms upstart into one of the world’s biggest technology investors. SoftBank hopes to list shares of its core Japanese telecoms unit, SoftBank Corp, this year, Son told reporters, adding that the proceeds “will be used to strengthen our financial balance and for group growth.” The company flagged last month that it was considering listing the business, seeking to raise a reported $18 billion. SoftBank has long relied on its domestic telecoms business, which makes up a third of overall sales but two-thirds of profit, as a stable source of cash that can be diverted to its growing number of investments around the world. In pursuit of his vision of a future powered by interconnected devices and artificial intelligence, Son established the Vision Fund, the world’s largest private equity firm, which has funneled more than $9 billion into global start-ups since its inception in 2016, Thomson Reuters data showed. Investments announced this year include leading an $865 million investment in construction startup Katerra, a $300 million investment in dog-walking app Wag and the closure of a deal to become Uber Technologies Inc’s largest shareholder.

Published in Daily Times, February 8^th 2018.