Japan-based telecommunications and internet group SoftBank is considering spinning out its $98.6bn Vision Fund in an initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported today, citing people familiar with the matter.
The prospective IPO is one of several options for the vehicle in future, another being the raising of a second fund that would also have a projected $100bn close.
SoftBank has also entered talks with the sultanate of Oman over a multibillion-dollar commitment to its next fund, according to WSJ, and a source confirmed to Reuters that it has spoken to banks in the past month about raising a second fund as well as a possible IPO.
Vision Fund raised much of its initial $93bn in May 2017 as a mix of debt and equity financing from limited partners including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which invested $45bn, and the Abu Dhabi-owned Mubadala Investment, which provided $25bn.
Corporates Apple, Foxconn, Qualcomm and Sharp each put up $1bn for the fund, which was hiked to $98.6bn in size in December 2018.
However, Vision Fund, which generally targets artificial intelligence technology and online service providers in its deals, has spent its capital extremely quickly and is reportedly mulling the raise of another $15bn alongside possible debt financing and requests that its LPs waive immediate loan repayments.
The fund, which is managed by Softbank Investment Advisers, is also looking to double its headcount to 800 in the next 18 months to two years, SoftBank CEO Rajeev Misra said this week.
