This might seem surprising given SoftBank on Monday evening warned of a $12.5bn annual operating loss — its biggest ever, according to the Financial Times — after its near-$100bn Vision fund was expected to post a Y1.8 trillion ($16.7bn) fall on a “deteriorating market environment”. The declines were amplified by a further Y800bn writedown on SoftBank’s investments outside the Vision Fund, including at co-working space provider WeWork and OneWeb, the satellite internet startup that filed for bankruptcy last month.
SoftBank’s stock price, however, has been on a rollercoaster in this period. It fell from Y4,381 per share in mid-September (and a high of Y5,751 in mid-February) to a four-year low of ¥2,687 each on March 19 before recovering to Y4,376 today after the company agreed a $41bn asset sale through sale of some of its profitable investments, including holdings in China-based Alibaba, to reduce its $55bn in net debt and Y2.5 trillion share buyback.
Similar headline share price movement could be seen at Prosus, which was listed on the Euronext exchange in mid-September at a reference €58.70 each to hold Naspers’ internet investments. Prosus shares now trade at €63.84 but also fell to a low of €49.32 in mid-March from highs in the early €70s per share since January.
The difference is Prosus, which owns a chunk of China-based gaming group Tencent, has not had to offer to sell assets to support its share price.
In comparing SoftBank and Prosus’ structures before the collapse in the planned listing of WeWork and deteriorating market environment with the effects of the coronavirus on consumer and business demand in the first quarter, Global Corporate Venturing’s analysis said if the “market falls substantially, Naspers’ more organic approach offers a resilient structure”.
The market’s roils has treated both groups as effectively the same but in doing so it has masked fundamental differences to leverage and governance that more casual investors would beware and entrepreneurs mindful of when seeking their next cheque or support for their business.
