We’ll soon find out if SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is a tech visionary or a genius in financial engineering. He started the $100 billion Vision Fund barely three years ago, and SoftBank is already making good money from asset management. In the fiscal year ended in March, more than half of SoftBank Group Corp.’s operating income came from unrealized valuation gains of investments it made via the Vision Fund, eclipsing earnings from core operations such as its domestic telecommunications.
But now SoftBank has a problem: WeWork. The initial public offering of its parent company, We Co., is being delayed, and when it does occur, the stock market may value the company at as little as $15 billion, about one-third of the $47 billion valuation it had when Son last put money into the company. As the September quarter draws to a close, SoftBank will need to decide whether to write down the value of its 29% stake in WeWork. A representative for SoftBank declined to comment.
Denne historien er fra September 30, 2019-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 30, 2019-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts
Running in Circles
A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking
The Last-Mover Problem
A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps
Tick Tock, TikTok
The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment
New Money, New Problems
In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers