Vision Fund, the $100bn investment fund managed by Japan-based telecommunications firm SoftBank, is arranging up to $9bn in debt financing, Bloomberg reported yesterday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The financing will be sourced from the banks handling the initial public offering of its wireless unit, which is expected to raise about $27bn.
Bloomberg reported last week that Nomura Holdings, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs Group will be lead underwriters for the offering while Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will be global coordinators.
The sources told Bloomberg that Vision Fund will put up stakes in five portfolio companies as collateral for the loan but did not disclose their identities. The fund’s portfolio features several unicorns including Uber, WeWork, Cruise Automation, Slack and Oyo.
The news comes amidst reports that SoftBank is facing possible issues over future funds. CEO Masayoshi Son has long stated that it intends to launch a series of Vision Funds, and it had reportedly secured a $45bn commitment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) for its next fund earlier this month.
However, the partnership with state-owned PIF could be affected by the recent alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian embassy in Turkey, and SoftBank chief operating officer Marcelo Claure told a technology conference this week the firm is “anxiously looking at what is happening” regarding the situation.
