SoftBank Vision Fund Plans To Raise $4 Bn

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank’s Vision Fund (SVF), is reportedly raising $4 Bn in debt with an aim to help finance its further acquisitions. Financial services company Goldman Sachs and Mizuho have been roped in to work on collecting the debt for the tech fund.

“When investors commit to backing a fund like the Vision Fund, they typically provide the cash for its investments on an ongoing basis as needed, rather than up front. The $4 Bn credit aims to cover the gap between when the cash is requested and when the fund investor sends it,” a Bloomberg report said.

The news was reported first on Friday (November 9) by Reuters.

The $100 Bn Vision Fund was launched in October 2016. It is currently headed by SoftBank Group founder and CEO Masayoshi Son, and India born Rajeev Misra, designated as CEO of SVF.

The fund aims to invest in the technology sector to help the companies grow with support from SoftBank’s expertise in technology and investment. In May 2017, SVF announced its first close at $93 Bn.

As earlier reported by Inc42, SoftBank’s Indian investments will be driven through this $100 Bn fund. Reports also surfaced that SoftBank is planning to shift its stakes worth more than $20 Bn,  invested in ride-hailing companies such as Uber Technologies Inc, Ola, Grab, and Didi Chuxing, to Saudi-backed Vision Technology Fund.

Rise Of SoftBank In India

Since the failed merger between Flipkart and Snapdeal in April 2017, SoftBank has emerged as one of the dominant investors in the Indian startup ecosystem. In a year, the Japanese conglomerate has managed to snag majority stakes in some of India’s hottest startups.

According to disclosed investments, so far SoftBank has invested approximately $6 Bn in India’s consumer internet majors such as Flipkart ($2.5 Bn), Paytm ($1.4 Bn), Ola ($2 Bn), and OYO ($250 Mn). In a bid to foray into the Indian food delivery space, SoftBank Vision Fund is also exploring investment opportunities in either of the two foodtech unicorns Swiggy and Zomato.

The increased investment has helped turn its Indian bets into profitable assets. The company reaped in sizeble profits in the first quarter of 2018, helped by its stake sale in Flipkart to Walmart after the US-based retail company acquired 77% stake in Flipkart for $16 Bn.

Further, according to its latest financial statement, operating profit for Q2 2018 was driven partially by its investment in Indian hotel aggregator OYO, which was valued at $100 Mn in 2015, and has now more than doubled in net worth.

During his visit to India in April 2018, Son had reiterated his commitment to invest further in the Indian landscape. “With $7 Bn already invested, the investment figures are likely to supercede our commitments,” he said.

While the existing corpus of Softbank Vision Fund is yet to be disbursed, earlier this year Son also hinted at setting up Vision Fund II in the near future.

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