Softbank downsizes with a ‘Spac’
Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group is to create a purpose acquisition company (Spac) which it will use to buy private companies.


Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group is attempting to take advantage of investor appetite for both special-purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) and technology shares, says Tim Culpan on Bloomberg.
The Spac will comprise money from public investors, SoftBank’s flagship Vision Fund and funds from selling additional debt. The resulting pool of capital can then be used to buy private companies. The new vehicle will mark the first time that private investors will be allowed to participate directly in SoftBank’s venture capital investments; they won’t be obliged to suffer “a massive conglomerate discount” by investing in the wider company.
“Nothing screams ‘bubble’ in the technology sector louder than a SoftBank Vision Fund Spac,” says Liam Proud for Breakingviews. But SoftBank’s decision to explore this route is also a mark of the company’s “waning influence”. Even if things go well, the new company is expected to raise a maximum of $500m, a fraction of the nearly $100bn received from investors in the original Vision Fund, most of which came from sovereign-wealth funds. Chasing public money to launch a Spac represents a “humble downsize”, for a company that has previously used “Gulf billions” to “reshape whole industries”.
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Investors should also beware, says Lex in the Financial Times. The simplified listing around Spacs typically leads to “lower levels of scrutiny”, with one recent study suggesting that Spacs’ returns have lagged the market over the last two years. This is a particular concern given SoftBank’s “history of opaque trades and governance”.
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Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.
He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.
Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.
As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.
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