Reporter of the Economic Business: Li Menglin Reporter of the Economic Business Business: Zheng Yuhang Editor of the Economic Business Business: Gao Han
According to Bloomberg, Japan's SoftBank Group (TYO: 9984, stock price 5,695 yen, market value 9.81 trillion yen) will sell part or all of its holdings in SoFi Technologies (SOFI, stock price 7.98 US dollars, market value 7.358 billion US dollars), and SoftBank currently holds 9.0%. Previously, Masayoshi Son has cleared its holdings in travel company Uber (UBER , stock price of US$31.85, market value of US$62.543 billion).
SoftBank sold about 5.4 million shares of SoFi Technologies stock on August 5 at a weighted average price of $7.99, according to SoftBank filings filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. On Monday, it sold another 6.7 million shares of SoFi Technologies stock at an average of $8.17. Documents show that as of June 30, a SoftBank subsidiary owned 83.2 million shares of SoFi Technologies.
SoFi Technologies is an online personal finance company and online banking company in the United States. Based in , San Francisco , SoFi offers financial products through mobile apps and desktop interfaces, including student and auto loan refinancing, mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, investments and banking. SoFi Technologies' stock price has fallen by nearly 50% this year.
Image source: Yingwei Finance
It is worth mentioning that SoftBank withdrew from its stake in Uber in the first quarter. In SoftBank's original vision, Uber should have become a star stock in its investment portfolio. According to Masayoshi Son, in the latest quarter, SoftBank wrote down 284 companies in its portfolio and increased its holdings by only 35 companies. He also said SoftBank is strictly restricting new investments.
According to CNBC, SoftBank said it sold all its Uber shares at an average of $41.47 per share at some point between April and July. SoftBank said the average cost per share was $34.50, so the company sold Uber shares in a profitable manner.
"Daily Economic News " reporter noticed that SoftBank invested in Uber in 2018 and 2019 and once became its largest shareholder. Last year, SoftBank sold about a third of its stake in Uber.
On Monday, the first quarter financial report of 2022 fiscal year 2022 (April-June) released by SoftBank Group showed that SoftBank's net sales in the first quarter were 1.572 trillion yen (approximately US$11.625 billion), a year-on-year increase of 6.3%; but SoftBank Group's single-quarter losses once again set a new record, with a net loss attributable to shareholders of 3.1627 trillion yen (approximately US$23.4 billion).
According to CNBC, the main reason for SoftBank's serious losses this time is investment losses. SoftBank has always been known for its investment in technology stock . However, with the start of the Fed rate hike cycle and the global inflation , technology stocks plummeted, SoftBank's investment portfolio's shares have severely shrunk, and SoftBank's heavily held Uber, South Korean e-commerce company Coupang (CPNG, stock price of US$19.20, market value of US$33.839 billion), and American food delivery company DoorDash (DASH, stock price of US$75.54, market value of US$30.025 billion), and other listed companies, such as Uber, South Korean e-commerce company Coupang (CPNG, stock price of US$19.20, market value of US$33.839 billion), and American food delivery company DoorDash (DASH, stock price of US$75.54, market value of US$30.025 billion).
In addition, its SoftBank Vision Fund was hit hard by a global technology stock selloff this year. It is reported that SoftBank’s Vision Fund disclosed a record loss in May this year. As of March 31, SoftBank’s Vision Fund’s net loss in fiscal year 2021 was as high as 2.64 trillion yen (approximately RMB 140 billion), making it one of the largest losses in the global venture capital field.
SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said earlier Monday that he plans to cut costs widely in his Tokyo-based company and Vision Fund after a record loss of about $23.4 billion.
"We have to count on cutting costs of Vision Funds (to get through the difficulties) through massive cuts. The way to cut costs will have to include layoffs - this is something I have made up my mind to do." Son said he would consider "everything" possible cost-cutting methods, including layoffs, and the decision was "undoubted".
Since the beginning of this year, SoftBank US stock stock price has fallen by 12%, and Japanese stock price has risen by about 4%.
Daily Economic News
Daily Economic News
