Japan-based technology conglomerate SoftBank Group has made a first close at $93bn of its corporate venturing fund after commitments from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and at least four other corporations.
Softbank has committed $28bn to its Vision Fund, including $8.2bn through the transfer of a 24.99% stake in its chip design subsidiary Arm. Other investors included Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PIF), reported to have committed $45bn, and Mubadala Investment Company of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reported to have committed $15bn, and corporate limited partners Apple, Foxconn, Qualcomm and Sharp, investing about $1bn each.
Softbank (SBG) said it was still targeting $100bn, with a final close within six months. As well as the Arm stake, the fund has already made investments in Guardant Health, Intelsat, Nvidia, OneWeb and SoFi, Softbank said.
Graphics chip maker Nvidia’s stock jumped 20% earlier this month, following a 665% rise over the past three years, as its $13bn in research and development in data centres and processors to aid artificial intelligence and autonomous driving has paid off with rising sales but Softbank’s share purchase has not been public previously.
Newswire Bloomberg said SoftBank now had a 4.9% stake in Nvidia, making it the company’s fourth-largest shareholder, and the position was worth about $4bn.
Earlier this month, Guardant Health, the US-based developer of a liquid biopsy system for cancer detection, raised $360m in a series D round led by SoftBank.
US-based online lending platform Social Finance (SoFi) was set to raise about $500m in a funding round featuring telecom group and existing investor SoftBank and in March said in a regulatory filing it had sold $403m, while another $49.9m was closed the same day, according to a separate filing to avoid paying investment banking fees. David Thevenon, managing director at Softbank in San Francisco is on SoFi’s board.
Also in March, OneWeb said it was set to merge with its corporate venturing investor Intelsat in a $13bn deal, with SoftBank paying $1.7bn in return for a 39.9% in the combined entity.
While the fund will be the primary investment vehicle for investments in excess of $100m, Softbank said it might continue to make other investments, including in early stage venture capital and strategic investments done at the operating company level.
The fund is expected to be active across a wide range of technology sectors, including but not limited to: internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, robotics, mobile applications and computing, communications infrastructure and telecoms, computational biology and other data-driven business models, cloud technologies and software, consumer internet businesses and financial technology.
Last week, Sharp said its reason for commiting $1bn was: “To transition toward a path of growth, Sharp is now looking at a variety of options….
“The [Vision] fund is expected to invest in IoT and other leading-edge technologies and Sharp expects the fund will forge new business sectors and give birth to a new paradigm shift with one of the world’s largest funds. Sharp decided to participate in the fund because, by participating in a fund of this kind, it expects to capture an opportunity to learn about the IoT space, which will in turn enable Sharp to accelerate its business expansion as an IoT company, which Sharp is aiming for.
“Furthermore, since SBG’s investment team, which has investment management capabilities in the technology sector as well as highly regarded wide-ranging operational knowledge and experience, will be making the investments, Sharp expects its participation in the fund to be conducive to improved financial performance.”
Softbank has made tens of billions from investments in companies including China-based online retailer Alibaba Group, US-listed internet services provider Yahoo and Finland-based games maker Supercell, acquired by peer Tencent last year.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank, said: “Technology has the potential to address the biggest challenges and risks facing humanity today. The businesses working to solve these problems will require patient long-term capital and visionary strategic investment partners with the resources to nurture their success. SoftBank has long made bold investments in transformative technologies and supported disruptive entrepreneurs. The SoftBank Vision Fund is consistent with this strategy and will help build and grow businesses creating the foundational platforms of the next stage of the Information Revolution.”
Yasir Al Rumayyan, managing director of PIF, added: “Our investment in the SoftBank Vision Fund alongside other sovereign and corporate investors is an important part of our overall investment strategy. We are building a portfolio that is diversified across sectors, asset classes and geographies, and expect the Vision Fund to act as a platform to access a range of exciting, emerging opportunities in the technology sector. We expect that this will, in turn, help enable the Public Investment Fund’s role in supporting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy to develop a diversified, knowledge-based economy.”
Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, CEO of Mubadala, said: “Our participation in the SoftBank Vision Fund perfectly complements Mubadala’s strategy as a long-term global investor and partner to the technology sector’s high-growth companies. Technology and innovation are central to the UAE’s economic diversification strategy, and we believe the Vision Fund has the scale to deploy significant capital into these disruptive industries that are shaping the future.”
The Jersey-domiciled Vision fund will be advised by wholly-owned subsidiaries of SBG, known collectively as SB Investment Advisers.
Rajeev Misra (pictured) will be the London-based CEO of SB Investment Advisers and will be a member of the investment committee. Jonathan Bullock, chief operating officer of SoftBank International, and Alok Sama, SoftBank’s chief financial officer, have also been appointed senior advisers, according to newswire Bloomberg.
Nizar Al-Bassam and Dalinc Ariburnu of newly-formed Centricus, who advised on structuring and fund raising efforts for the Vision fund, will continue their roles as advisers, Softbank said. Misra used to work with both Al-Bassam and Ariburnu at Deutsche Bank before he joined alternative investments manager Fortress Investment Group ahead of joining Softbank in 2014. In 2009, Ariburnu left Deutsche Bank for investment bank peer Goldman Sachs where he co-headed fixed-income, currencies and commodities sales as a partner and clients included SoftBank.
On Thursday, Centricus was formed when FAB Partners, a global alternative investment platform, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Halkin Asset Management, a UK-based alternative asset manager, and renamed the combined entity.
FAB founders Ariburnu and Al-Bassam (along with a third ex-Deutsche Bank colleague, Michele Faissola, who is unconnected to the Softbank advisory relationship,) had in November acquired CIFC Asset Management, a US-based private debt investment manager with $14bn in assets, for a reported $333m and through its corporate finance advisory business had subsequently arranged SoftBank Group’s $3.3bn acquisition of Fortress.
FAB’s minority investments have included Global Investment Holdings, the parent company of Global Ports Holding, the world’s largest cruise port operator. Global Ports listed on the London Stock Exchange in May 2017, completing one of the largest flotations of the year.
Softbank said its advisers were law firm Linklaters acted as fund counsel and provided tax support, with Kirkland & Ellis as US regulatory counsel to the fund, and Carey Olsen as Jersey fund counsel. Mori Hamada & Matsumoto and Maples & Calder provided additional legal and regulatory support. PwC provided tax, operational build and programme delivery support. Aztec Group will provide ongoing administration services. Goldman Sachs International acted as financial adviser, reportedly led by Simon Holden. Milltown Partners provided strategic communications support.