Vision Fund, the $98.6bn technology investment fund managed by telecommunications firm SoftBank, has allocated more than half of its capital in under two years, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
The fund reached a $93bn first close in May 2017 on its way to a projected $100bn close, most recently increasing its capital allocation to $98.6bn.
However, Vision Fund is investing about $7bn per quarter and the WSJ calculates it will run out of money in the next 18 months once employee compensation has been taken into account.
Workspace provider WeWork, dynamic glass producer View, satellite launcher OneWeb, pharmaceutical company Roivant, sports memorabilia retailer Fanatics and online finance provider SoFi have all received hefty investments from the fund, some in the 10-figure bracket.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has stated in the past he plans to raise multiple Vision Funds sized at up to $100bn each, though that would require some of its larger limited partners, which include several Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, to recommit 11-figure sums.
Vision Fund has generated some returns, most notably booking a $1.5bn profit on its $2.5bn investment in e-commerce marketplace Flipkart when Walmart bought a majority stake in the company at a $20.8bn valuation.
The fund also divested its stake in publicly-listed chipmaker Nvidia for $3.63bn yesterday, though that deal can hardly be viewed as a win considering the stake, then worth $5bn, was transferred over by SoftBank, and that Nvidia’s share price has fallen some 48% since September 2018.
Recent reports suggest SoftBank is also looking to raise debt financing, employing Goldman Sachs and Mizuho to put together a $4bn debt facility, and arranging a separate $9bn facility that would be backed by a host of financial services providers.
