08.31.20 - SoftBank, one of the biggest tech investors in the world, is now acquiring billions of dollars in cash by selling off assets in an effort to protect itself from the possibility of another emerging wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SoftBank has stated that it will sell more than one million shares in SoftBank Corp. – valued at about 1.47 trillion yen (almost $14 billion). The offering would reduce SoftBank Group's stake in the carrier company from 62% to 40%.
Many have noted that most global markets have been recovering from the crash caused earlier this year due to the pandemic and many tech stocks on Wall Street have been hitting record highs, but nevertheless, SoftBank remains absolute, citing concerns in a statement about the pandemic, "…ongoing uncertainty in the market environment due to concerns about a potential second or even third wave of Covid-19."
Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s legendary founder and leader, stated earlier this month that the company had hit the majority of its targets for the year by selling off the companies stakes in Sprint and T-Mobile for about $22 billion, the US carrier giants that have recently merged together through T-Mobile’s acquisition of Sprint.
This fire-sale of assets has assisted SoftBank Group get back into profitability last quarter. SoftBank recently posted a historic operating loss of 1.36 yen (or $12.7 billion) the last fiscal year - the companies worst losses ever.
Source: Wall Street Journal
