SoftBank Group Corp reported its first quarterly profit in three quarters, buoyed by paring some of its stake in China's Alibaba but also declared that its massive Vision Fund unit posted another big quarterly loss. Furthermore, Masayoshi Son is allegedly now personally liable for about $4.7 billion in side deals he set up to boost his compensation.
The mounting losses in the company's tech portfolio have destroyed the value of the sprawling Vision Fund, which upended the world of technology with its big bets on startups. The fund will now write down its investments in troubled crypto exchange FTX to zero, a source close to SoftBank told Reuters.
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Investors have criticized the Japanese billionaire's controversial personal stakes in SoftBank's investments, citing the mix of personal and company interests as an issue of corporate governance. However, Son — who owns a more than 30 percent stake in SoftBank — has denied the charges.
The current events have also brought a spotlight on Softbank's India portfolio which again is tech and startup-heavy.
How has the India portfolio of SoftBank performed?
Softbank Vision Fund has four listed Indian companies in its portfolio...
Paytm
SoftBank held a 17.45 percent stake at end of the July-September Quarter. Now as yesterday SoftBank Vision Funds India Holdings (Cayman) Ltd sold 2.9 crore shares in the company at an average price of Rs 555.7 apiece, the stake has gone down to 12.95 percent. At current market price the stake is valued at Rs.4400 crore.
Paytm shares have been under the stress of market bears since its listing on NSE and BSE in November 2021. Paytm shares recently hit their new lifetime low of Rs 510 on BSE, which is more than 75 percent below Paytm IPO's upper price band of Rs 2150. Today Paytm shares closed at Rs 546.4, up by 1.22 percent from the previous close on the BSE.
Delhivery
The company has stake in Delhivery via SoftBank Vision Fund Doorbell (Cayman) Ltd and at the end of the quarter ended September 2022, the stake is at 18.48 percent. At the current market price the stake is valued at Rs.4750 crore.
The company got listed on the street in May this year with an IPO price of Rs 487. The shares closed today at Rs 351.15, down 27.89 percent from the IPO price.
PB Fintech
In PB fintech the parent company of Policy Bazaar SoftBank Vision Fund holds 10.16 percent stake at the end of quarter ended September 2022. At current market price the stake is valued at Rs.175 0 core.
Shares of PB Fintech rallied over 12 percent touching the day’s high at Rs 417.95. The shares closed at Rs 402, up by 7.08 percent from the previous close on the BSE which is 58 percent below PB Fintech’s IPO’s upper band price at Rs 980.
Zomato
SoftBank Vision Fund holds 3.36 percent stake in food delivery brand Zomato at the end of the July-September quarter. At current market price the stake is valued at Rs.1950 crore.
Zomato shares have been volatile since its IPO listing in July 2021. The shares closed today at Rs 67, down 11.8 percent from the IPO’s upper band price of Rs 76.
Meanwhile, the Softbank Vision Fund has many Indian investments in the unlisted universe too. The investments are spread across the consumer space, ed-tech, enterprise platforms, fintech and transportation sectors. Some notable names include Flipkart, Lenskart, Meesho, Oyo, Swiggy, Unacademy, Ola, and Ola Electric.
According to reports, Indian investments account for 9 percent of the fair value of companies in SoftBank Vision Fund’s global portfolio.
(Edited by : Abhishek Jha)
First Published: Nov 18, 2022 5:20 PM IST
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