The world's biggest tech investor will target a $21 billion IPO in December

pulse

November 12, 2018 11:53 AM

The IPO is set at 2.4 trillion yen, roughly $21 billion dollars, making it one of the biggest IPOs ever.

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is launching an initial public offering (IPO) of its mobile division in December.
The IPO is set at 2.4 trillion yen, roughly $21 billion, making it one of the biggest floats ever.
SoftBank is known for its investments in tech, many of which are done through its Saudi-backed Vision Fund.

SoftBank has been granted approval for an initial public offering of its telecoms division at 2.4 trillion yen ($21.04 billion), a filing showed on Monday.

A new entity called SoftBank Corp will list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in December 19, and the price will be set on December 10.

The company is selling 1.6 billion SoftBank Corp shares at 1,500 yen each, with the parent company holding on to a 66.5 % stake. An anonymous source told Reuters that more than 80% of the shares will be offered to domestic retail investors.

The IPO is already being reported as one of the "biggest IPOs ever." SoftBank is famous as an investor in tech, with its $98 billion Vision Fund injecting huge amounts of capital into companies such as Uber and WeWork.

The float will give SoftBank an additional injection of cash as chief executive Masayoshi Son looks to power more tech deals.

SoftBank's shares took a big hit in October due to its ties to Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

In November SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son decried Khashoggi's murder but defended the Vision Fund, roughly half of which is backed with money from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

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