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Recession Signal? Softbank Vision Fund Weighs Downsizing Up To 30%

Benzinga Real-time News ·  Sep 29, 2022 14:34

  • Softbank Group Corp (OTC:SFTBF) has started laying off employees at its loss-making Vision Fund and will likely cut at least 30% of its staff.
  • Softbank has started telling some workers of the reductions, with at least 150 likely to be affected, Bloomberg reports.
  • The Vision Fund unit, headquartered in London, had about 500 employees, including the Latin America fund staff.
  • Earlier, founder Masayoshi Son had shared cost-cut intentions at his conglomerate and the Vision Fund investment arm after a record $23-billion loss. Most of the losses came from a plunge in the valuations of portfolio companies, including South Korea's Coupang, Inc (NYSE:CPNG) and DoorDash, Inc (NYSE:DASH).
  • Internally, SoftBank planned Vision Fund unit staff cuts of at least 20%, while some argued for up to 50%.
  • SoftBank raised more than $17 billion by selling forward contracts on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA).
  • Softbank also explored the launch of a new giant startup investment fund after the poor performance of its two earlier funds.
  • The leading startup investor will likely use its cash for the third SoftBank Vision Fund. SoftBank had also weighed putting additional money into Vision Fund 2.
  • Son plans to visit Seoul for the first time in three years and discuss a potential partnership between Arm Ltd and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (OTC:SSNLF).
  • Price Action: SFTBF shares were down 0.38% at $34.28 at last check.
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