SFTBY - SoftBank Group Corp.
| Previous Close | 19.98 |
| Open | 19.95 |
| Bid | 0.00 x 0 |
| Ask | 0.00 x 0 |
| Day's Range | 19.76 - 20.09 |
| 52 Week Range | 15.54 - 28.04 |
| Volume | 372,588 |
| Avg. Volume | 1,045,230 |
| Market Cap | 83B |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 1.60 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 2.79 |
| EPS (TTM) | 7.15 |
| Earnings Date | N/A |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 0.20 (1.01%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2019-09-26 |
| 1y Target Est | N/A |
- Yahoo Finance Video
SoftBank bails on $300M investment in Wag
The SoftBank Vision Fund has sold its stake in Wag. Yahoo Finance's Krystal Hu joined On The Move to discuss.
- Yahoo Finance Video
SoftBank sells Wag stake back to the dog walking startup
SoftBank is selling its $300 million stake in the dog walking startup, Wag. Yahoo Finance’s Dan Roberts, Anjalee Khemlani and Scott Gamm discuss on YFi AM.
- Yahoo Finance Video
New report says Softbank may have last laugh on Wework
Will Softbank have the last laugh when it comes to WeWork? A new report by analyst Chris Lane at Bernstein says Softbank's massive investment could still pan out if overhauls the start ups business plan.
- Reuters
SoftBank’s China strategy wobbles as key bets disappoint
HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - For SoftBank Group Inc , financial technology firm OneConnect's IPO should have been a vindication of an aggressive China investing strategy. Instead, embarrassed bankers had to slash the offering size and cut its price as investors baulked at a business model seen too reliant on majority owner Ping An Insurance . The IPO valued OneConnect at $3.7 billion, about half its worth last year when SoftBank's Vision Fund invested $100 million, and its stock was down slightly in its debut on Friday.
- Reuters
Shares of SoftBank-backed OneConnect rise 5% in U.S. market debut
Shares opened at $10.51 compared with its IPO price of $10. OneConnect, which focuses on small and medium-sized businesses, raised around $312 million on Thursday, selling 31.2 million American depositary shares (ADS). The company had slashed its IPO size by 28% on Wednesday and lowered its target price range to $9 to $10 per share from $12 to $14 per share.
- Reuters
SoftBank more cautious after WeWork - Softbank Latam partner
SoftBank Group Corp has been more cautious on assessing its investments after myriad governance problems and large losses forced WeWork to shelve IPO plans, Latin America Softbank managing partner Andre Maciel, said on Friday. "There is no question that we've made some mistakes," Maciel told journalists in Sao Paulo, in a meeting discussing investments by SoftBank $5 billion Latin America fund.
- Bloomberg
Fortress Seeks $1 Billion for Transportation Firm Trac
(Bloomberg) -- Fortress Investment Group LLC is exploring a sale of transportation equipment company Trac Intermodal LLC, according to people with knowledge of the matter.Trac, which describes itself as the largest marine chassis provider in the U.S., could fetch about $1 billion including debt, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.A Fortress representative declined to comment. A representative for Trac didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Princeton, New Jersey-based Trac is led by Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Polli, a former Fortress private equity executive. Fortress acquired in Trac, previously known as Interpool, for $2.4 billion including debt in 2007.Fortress sought to sell the company as recently as 2014 and 2016, according to media reports at the time. Early in 2018, Fortress sold Trac’s domestic chassis fleet to Direct ChassisLink Inc., a chassis rental and leasing firm that was backed by EQT Partners AB. This year, Apollo Global Management acquired a majority stake in Direct ChassisLink, or DCLI, from EQT.Chassis businesses involving the transportation of containers at ports and other locations have drawn continued interest from private equity and infrastructure investors thanks in part to the perceived stability of revenues.Fortress is an investment firm owned by SoftBank Group Corp.To contact the reporter on this story: Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net, Michael Hytha, Matthew MonksFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
SoftBank-backed Paytm to allot 2.6 million shares in fundraising
SoftBank-backed Indian digital payments startup Paytm's parent is set to allot about 2.6 million shares to investors, according to a latest filing by the company. A source familiar with the matter said the allotment by One 97 Communications Ltd was part of last month's $1 billion fundraise, which valued Paytm at $16 billion. Alibaba's Alipay, SoftBank's SVF Panther (Cayman) and funds managed by T Rowe Price were among the investors, financial data accessed by business intelligence platform Tofler dated Dec. 12 showed.
- Financial Times
PingAn’s OneConnect cuts valuation in blow for SoftBank
OneConnect, the financial technology arm of China’s biggest insurance company, has cut its expected valuation by about half before a planned stock market debut in the US, in another blow for Softbank’s giant Vision Fund. The company, part of Shenzhen-based Ping An, said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday that at the top end of an indicated range it would seek to raise $299m at a valuation of $3.6bn. OneConnect, which sells technology platforms to financial companies, raised $650m at a $7.5bn valuation last year, according to filings by Ping An.
- Financial Times
The tale of a Libyan spy, Wirecard and hedge funds
Especially when it involves Wirecard, short-sellers and a former Libyan intelligence chief. The former head of foreign intelligence in Libya’s National Transition Council was looking for evidence on whether short-sellers — who bet that a company’s stock price will drop — were attempting to manipulate Wirecard shares. Paul obtained a briefing document that outlined the surveillance operation.
- Reuters
UPDATE 1-SoftBank-backed OneConnect slashes IPO by 28%, lowers target valuation
Ping An Insurance's OneConnect Financial Technology on Wednesday downsized its planned U.S. initial public offering by 28% and lowered its target valuation, dealing yet another blow to its investor SoftBank, which is still reeling from the fallout of WeWork's failed listing. OneConnect set a price range of $9 to $10 per share for its initial public offering of 26 million shares, down from the $12 to $14 per share range it had set earlier. OneConnect, a unit of China's biggest insurer by market value, Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd, counts Japan's SoftBank and Japanese financial firm SBI Group as some of its main investors.
- Reuters
SoftBank-backed OneConnect slashes IPO by 28%, lowers target valuation
OneConnect set a price range of $9 to $10 per share for its initial public offering of 26 million shares, down from the $12 to $14 per share range it had set earlier. OneConnect, a unit of China's biggest insurer by market value, Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd, counts Japan's SoftBank and Japanese financial firm SBI Group as some of its main investors.
- Barrons.com
Amazon Warehouses Could Get a Hand From an Innovative Robot
Boston Dynamics is working on a robot called Handle that has a payload capacity of 33 pounds and a reach of nine feet. It could launch in less than two years.
- Market Exclusive
Market Morning: Virgin Rocket, Blain Bashes Tesla, Softbank Bails on Wag, Banks Fret on Repo
Virgin Galactic Explodes Higher On Space Flight Hopes Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) shares are rocketing back into space, or at least to a $9.66 handle at time of writing, on the back of a Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) report predicting that shares could climb to $60 if the company executes its business goals. Basically, it wants to […]The post Market Morning: Virgin Rocket, Blain Bashes Tesla, Softbank Bails on Wag, Banks Fret on Repo appeared first on Market Exclusive.
- Financial Times
SoftBank/Alibaba: Wag’s the dog
Masayoshi Son was on the same conference panel. News that Mr Son’s SoftBank is selling a big stake in overhyped US dog-walking start-up Wag shows Mr Ma has a point. Implicit criticism from the founder of Alibaba must be painful, even for the brash Mr Son.
- Bloomberg
SoftBank May Sell Alibaba Stock to Fund Buyback, Jefferies Says
(Bloomberg) -- The slump in SoftBank Group Corp.’s shares could prompt Masayoshi Son to play an ace card -- cashing in part of his stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.Son is likely to sell Alibaba stock to help pay for another buyback in an attempt to bolster SoftBank shares, according to Jefferies Group analyst Atul Goyal. It’s a surprise the Japanese technology giant’s shares are “languishing” despite its large stake in Alibaba, Goyal wrote in a note. The shares have become “decoupled,” and SoftBank is seeing little upside from its holding, he said. SoftBank’s stock is up 16% this year, while Alibaba’s has surged 45%. SoftBank’s market cap is about $82 billion, though its Alibaba shares alone are worth about $128 billion.SoftBank’s February announcement of a record 600 billion yen ($5.5 billion) buyback sent its shares to a peak in April, but the stock has since lost most of the gains. Investors have been spooked by the one-two punch of Uber Technologies Inc.’s plunge after an initial public offering in June and WeWork’s meltdown that forced a bailout by SoftBank. The poor performance of Son’s two marquee investments called into question the billionaire founder’s deal-making approach just as he’s trying to raise a successor to his $100 billion Vision Fund.As the current stock price is “well below” the average price paid in the stock repurchase earlier this year, “we will not be surprised if SoftBank Group funds yet another buyback, perhaps in February 2020, by selling some more stake in Alibaba,” Goyal said.SoftBank’s sale of part of its stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant earlier this year and using Alibaba shares as collateral for a loan indicate Son’s willingness for such a move, Goyal said. In addition to buybacks, proceeds could be used for investment in the second Vision Fund, the analyst said.Responding to criticism about his reluctance to exit successful investments, Son in June 2016 unveiled a plan to sell 73 million American Depositary Shares in the online mall operator. The complex transaction, structured so that he could retain some upside if the stock rose, took three years to complete. SoftBank booked 1.2 trillion yen in pre-tax profit from the deal and still holds about 26% of Alibaba.To contact the reporters on this story: Kurt Schussler in Tokyo at kschussler1@bloomberg.net;Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lianting Tu at ltu4@bloomberg.net, ;Edwin Chan at echan273@bloomberg.net, Peter Elstrom, Vlad SavovFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
SoftBank is selling Wag stake back to company: WSJ
"We are amicably parting ways with SoftBank and SoftBank will no longer have board representation," Chief Executive Garrett Smallwood said in a memo to employees, the report said. Wag, which earlier this year laid off several dozen employees, is letting go a significant amount of the remainder of its workforce, the report said. SoftBank and Wag Labs did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
- Bloomberg
Goldman Jumps Into WeWork Cleanup With Debt-Financing Plan
(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank Group Corp. tapped Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for new financing to help revive one of its biggest bets -- an investment in office-sharing company WeWork.Goldman is arranging a $1.75 billion line of credit, the first step in SoftBank’s pledge to put together $5 billion in debt financing for WeWork as part of its bailout package, according to people with knowledge of the matter. In a twist aimed at making the financing more palatable to other lenders, SoftBank will be listed as the borrower and WeWork will be a co-borrower, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public.The Wall Street firm has reached out to other banks to gauge their interest in participating in the facility, structured as letters of credit, with the goal of putting it in place before the end of the year, the people said. The new credit line will replace existing facilities that total about $1.1 billion, and is designed to free up cash that’s being used as collateral in the existing letters of credit.Representatives for SoftBank, Goldman and WeWork, a unit of the We Co., declined to comment on the financing plan.Bonds that WeWork issued last year to help fund its expansion rose 4 cents to 80.75 cents on the dollar on Monday, according to Trace bond pricing data.Once the facility is in place, a $3.3 billion debt package will be arranged to complete the SoftBank plan, one of the people said. It’s not yet clear which banks will lead the second part of the debt financing. SoftBank has previously said the $3.3 billion will include $1.1 billion of senior secured notes and $2.2 billion in unsecured notes.Rescue PackageWeWork secured a $9.5 billion rescue package from SoftBank in October, a deal that will hand 80% of the company to the Japanese conglomerate after a tumultuous few months that saw WeWork turn from one of the most valuable startups to a cautionary tale.The deal with SoftBank included an acceleration of a $1.5 billion existing commitment from Masayoshi Son’s firm and a plan to buy as much as $3 billion from existing shareholders in a tender offer, which is under way.WeWork has previously leaned on JPMorgan Chase & Co. for the bulk of its advice. The Jamie Dimon-led bank had been tapped to lead the company’s initial public offering and had previously arranged a $6 billion credit facility that was contingent on the listing. The IPO was ultimately canned, and SoftBank stepped in with its rescue deal.(Updates bond price in fifth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Davide Scigliuzzo.To contact the reporters on this story: Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.net;Sridhar Natarajan in New York at snatarajan15@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net, Michael J. Moore, Daniel TaubFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Financial Times
SoftBank ditches stake in dog walking start-up Wag
SoftBank agreed to sell its near 50 per cent stake in Wag back to the dog walking company, ending a disappointing investment for the Japanese company’s $97bn Vision Fund. Wag told employees on Monday it was “amicably parting ways” with SoftBank and that the investor would no longer hold a seat on the board. SoftBank will lose money on the sale, which is expected to close this month, one person familiar with the deal said.
- Bloomberg
SoftBank's New Tech Fund to Fall Short of Target, Telegraph Says
(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank Group Corp. has scaled back ambitions for its second Vision Fund after the failure of big bets including WeWork by its first fund rattled partners such as Saudi Arabia, according to the Sunday Telegraph.The second Vision Fund is expected to fall significantly short of the $108 billion originally planned, the Sunday Telegraph report said, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter.Discussions are continuing with potential partners including Mubadala Investment Co. and the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth funds of Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, but neither has yet committed to the new fund, the report said. A SoftBank Vision Fund spokesman told the newspaper that fundraising was progressing as expected as external investors assess their potential commitments.SoftBank’s massive investment in WeWork triggered a multi-billion dollar writedown and a rare apology from founder Masayoshi Son. The Japanese company was forced to provide a $9.5 billion rescue package to the shared-office-space provider in October after it withdrew an initial public offering.Read more: SoftBank’s Second Vision Fund Starts Life a Lot SmallerTo contact the reporter on this story: Bill Lehane in London at blehane@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaric Nightingale at anightingal1@bloomberg.net, Patrick Henry, Cecile GutscherFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- InvestorPlace
Uber Stock Suffers Greatly From Company’s Hazy ‘Vision’
Every viable business creates a win-win situation. Employees get a sustainable income. Customers get value. Shareholders get profits. Uber (NYSE:UBER) doesn't do any of that.Source: TY Lim / Shutterstock.com Employees aren't making sustainable income and they're not treated like employees. Shareholders aren't seeing any profits, even at scale. Customers have been seeing value only because their rides are subsidized by shareholders.Uber went public in May 2019 because it had to. Private equity and venture funding had grown tired of the pretense that it would work. They wanted out. Since then, the stock is down almost 33%.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsIf you bought UBER stock it's because I couldn't convince you not to. I warned you in May, in August and September. You didn't listen.Can you believe me now? Son's Lack of VisionUber is a product of SoftBank Group (OTCMKTS:SFTBY) CEO Masayoshi Son. The idea behind his Vision Fund was to disrupt huge industries, using software and Saudi money, and to have a dominant position in the resulting companies. * 7 Hot Stocks for 2020's Big Trends The fund has some winners. Paytm, the Indian payments company, looks like a winner. Kabbage, another fintech player, may be a winner. Fanatics may do OK.But most are like Uber. Slack (NYSE:WORK) has been a loser on public markets. WeWork, as I said over the summer, doesn't.Son went too big, too fast on a lot of these deals. He put in more money than many of these companies could use. He convinced founders like WeWork's Adam Neumann (and Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick) they could do no wrong. SoftBank's CEO became like Jeffrey Cordova in The Band Wagon, producing pretentious versions of Faust when he could have been making nice little musicals.Son, in short, let founders run when he should have used a short leash, and a quick hook. What Tech Can't DoTechnology can disintermediate industries. When there's a high cost in making something happen, technology can drop that cost to zero. It's in transaction costs that disruptive technology earns its way.But there isn't enough money in taxis to make that work, even when the business scales. Uber lost $1.2 billion during the most recent quarter, on adjusted revenue of $3.8 billion. That's a 30% gain in revenue, but the losses were 18% higher than the previous year, when they came in at $986 million.In order to achieve those third quarter results CEO Dara Khosrowshahi bypassed normal employment checks to protect passengers, which put them in danger. It also treated the people doing its work like hot garbage. In other words, it squeezed the people on both sides of every transaction, as hard as it could, and still didn't make any money.The promise of Uber was it would eliminate the driver. But that was always a canard. The technology was stolen from Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Waymo, by a man named Anthony Levandowski. And it still doesn't work. The Bottom Line on Uber StockUber is the perfect business analogy for our time.It claimed to be profiting from the benefits of technology, but it was always about disintermediating law, not industry. Drivers were told they were qualified to be taxi drivers, and doubtless many were. Passengers were told technology could give them safe rides at a bargain price, and doubtless many got them. Investors were told that Uber stock could create a dominant position quickly, then squeeze all sides of the business for big profits.Which was the greatest fool? I'd argue it was those who invested in the Vision Fund. Son believed his own rhetoric. The Saudis bought his reality distortion field. Son has a second Vision Fund and insists he has learned his lesson.We shall see.Dana Blankenhorn is a financial and technology journalist. He is the author of the historical mystery romance The Reluctant Detective Travels in Time available now at the Amazon Kindle store. Write him at danablankenhorn@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @danablankenhorn. As of this writing he owned no shares in companies mentioned in this story. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Hot Stocks for 2020's Big Trends * 7 Lumbering Large-Cap Stocks to Avoid * 5 ETFs for Oodles of Monthly Dividends The post Uber Stock Suffers Greatly From Company's Hazy 'Vision' appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- TechCrunch
Style Theory, a fashion rental startup in Southeast Asia, raises $15 million led by SoftBank Ventures Asia
Style Theory, a platform for renting designer apparel in Indonesia and Singapore, announced today it has raised $15 million in Series B funding. It was led by SoftBank Ventures Asia, the early-stage venture arm of SoftBank Group, with participation from other investors, including Alpha JWC Ventures and the Paradise Group. Both SoftBank Ventures Asia and Alpha JWC Ventures are returning investors, having previously participated in Style Theory’s Series A.
