TOKYO — SoftBank Group Corp. has spent at least half of its nearly $100 billion Vision Fund in less than two years, increasing the pressure on the world’s biggest technology investor to raise more money if it wants to maintain that pace.
The Vision Fund, which is backed by the sovereign-wealth funds of Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, has taken stakes in some of the world’s most valuable startups, including ride-hailing pioneer Uber Technologies Inc. and shared-office-space company WeWork Cos. LLC.
SoftBank
9984, +16.63%
said Wednesday the fund has spent about $50 billion of its approximately $99 billion in capital. At the roughly $7 billion-per-quarter spending rate it has logged so far, the Vision Fund’s remaining money will last only another year and a half — likely less, when taking into account amounts already set aside for paying fund employees as well as existing investments that may get transferred to the fund from SoftBank’s own books.
SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has said since last year that he doesn’t want to let up and would like to start a second Vision Fund. “We’re going to keep up this pace of investment,” Son said in Tokyo on Wednesday. “We’re in prime shape.”
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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Source : MTV
