SOFTBANK VISION FUND SUFFERS $18 BILLION OPERATING LOSS

Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. has registered a mournful $18 billion loss at its giant Vision Fund, pushing Masayoshi Son’s conglomerate to a record loss and highlighting the deepening crisis at its portfolio companies from the global downturn.

In a Reuters story filed by Sam Nussey on May 18, 2020, the disastrous 1.9 trillion yen ($18 billion) operating shortfall at the Saudi-backed Vision Fund included nearly $10 billion at office-sharing firm WeWork and ride-hailing app Uber Technologies, Inc.

Losses from WeWork and Uber were responsible for SoftBank’s worst-ever annual loss of 1.4 trillion yen.

Son, who is under pressure from U.S. activist hedge fund Elliott Management to increase share buybacks and governance, said SoftBank would raise 1.25 trillion yen for buybacks using its stake in China’s Alibaba Group. “The coronavirus is an unprecedented crisis,” a notably downbeat Son told an earnings presentation, comparing it to the Great Depression. #coronavirusimpact #COVID19