SoftBank prepares for telecoms IPO, CEO aims within 2018

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SoftBank Group aims to list its Japanese mobile phone 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 plans to sell shares of core unit SoftBank Corp with the proceeds being used “to strengthen our financial balance and for group growth,” Son told reporters on Wednesday.

The announcement comes almost a month after SoftBank said it was considering listing the business, with local media estimating the proceeds at 18 billion US dollars – potentially the biggest IPO by a Japanese company in nearly two decades.

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SoftBank has long relied on the unit, which makes up around a third of group 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.

Son is pursuing his vision of a future powered by interconnected devices and artificial intelligence. He established the Vision Fund, the world’s largest private equity fund, which, in conjunction with the Delta Fund set up to invest in Chinese ride-sharing firm Didi Chuxing, has funneled 27.5 billion US dollars into 20 tech firms as of the end of December.

Son on Wednesday said he expected several of the firms SoftBank has invested in to list each year.

Separately on Wednesday, the group reported a 2.8 percent fall in third-quarter operating profit, due in part to higher costs. It did not release a forecast for the current business year, saying there were too many uncertain factors.

Source(s): Reuters