TOKYO – SoftBank Group Corp. Chief Executive Ma
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Posted On: 05/18/2017 2:18:07 PM
TOKYO – SoftBank Group Corp. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said Wednesday he is preparing to shift his focus from turning around U.S. wireless unit Sprint Corp. to running a $100 billion technology-investment fund.
The investment fund is nearly ready for its official launch, he said. A person involved in the negotiations said that could come as early as next week.
Mr. Son is tracking what he says will be a "gold rush" into technologies for an age when artificial intelligence exceeds human capabilities. He says ownership of ARM, whose chip architecture is used in almost all of the world's smartphones, will help him predict which technologies win.
That argument drew a pledge to invest $45 billion from Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, as well as investments from Abu Dhabi investor Mubadala Development Co., Apple Inc., Qualcomm Inc., Foxconn Technology Group and Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison, according to people familiar with the matter. SoftBank has said it would contribute $25 billion.
SoftBank and investment teams in London and San Francisco have already lined up deals for the fund. The list includes satellite operators Intelsat SA and OneWeb Ltd., New York-based shared-office-space company WeWork Cos., Indian mobile-payment company Paytm, and a 25% stake in ARM that would be purchased from SoftBank, according to people familiar with the matter.
A deal related to automotive technology is also in the pipeline, Mr. Son said.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/05/1...s-wsj.html
......$$$$ is on the move
The investment fund is nearly ready for its official launch, he said. A person involved in the negotiations said that could come as early as next week.
Mr. Son is tracking what he says will be a "gold rush" into technologies for an age when artificial intelligence exceeds human capabilities. He says ownership of ARM, whose chip architecture is used in almost all of the world's smartphones, will help him predict which technologies win.
That argument drew a pledge to invest $45 billion from Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, as well as investments from Abu Dhabi investor Mubadala Development Co., Apple Inc., Qualcomm Inc., Foxconn Technology Group and Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison, according to people familiar with the matter. SoftBank has said it would contribute $25 billion.
SoftBank and investment teams in London and San Francisco have already lined up deals for the fund. The list includes satellite operators Intelsat SA and OneWeb Ltd., New York-based shared-office-space company WeWork Cos., Indian mobile-payment company Paytm, and a 25% stake in ARM that would be purchased from SoftBank, according to people familiar with the matter.
A deal related to automotive technology is also in the pipeline, Mr. Son said.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/05/1...s-wsj.html
......$$$$ is on the move
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