Softbank ‘mulls $300bn Spac listing’ for Vision Fund
Softbank is reportedly weighing up a $300bn (£212bn) blank-cheque deal to take its tech-focused Vision Fund public.
The Japanese conglomerate is said to be discussing plans to raise capital through a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) deal on the Amsterdam stock exchange later this year.
It is planning to seek around €250bn from the listing, Bloomberg reported, though the target has not yet been finalised.
Any deal to go private would come after a tumultuous period for Softbank, which is led by billionaire Masayoshi Son.
The Vision Fund, which is the world’s largest tech venture capital fund, has backed some of the world’s biggest tech companies, including Uber, Wework and Slack.
The fund suffered major losses on its investments in the year to March 2020, but has since rebounded thanks to a global tech rally during the pandemic.
This performance is set to drive Softbank to a record profit of roughly $45bn in its latest financial year.
The Spac would focus on investments in the European tech industry and other high-growth areas, according to the report.
A spokesperson for Softbank’s Vision Fund declined to comment to Bloomberg.
Blank-cheque companies have become one of the biggest drivers for global deal-making in recent months, with Spacs fuelling a rush of deals worth $1.3 trillion in the first quarter this year, according to data from Refinitiv.
Softbank itself has embraced the Spac boom, raising a total of $3.3bn for nine US-listed Spacs during the latest financial year.