| To: Madharry who wrote (5923) | 2/5/2021 9:56:02 PM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | SoftBank Files for Two More SPACs Seeking to Raise $630 Million
New effort follows debut of Japanese company’s $525 million blank-check vehicle.
By Sarah McBride
Bloomberg
February 5, 2021, 8:16 PM CST
SoftBank Group Corp. plans to raise as much as $630 million through two more blank-check companies, capitalizing on record investor demand for the vehicles.
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The Tokyo-based technology conglomerate said it would create the special purpose acquisition companies less than two months after it filed to create a $525 million blank-check company. SPACs look to merge with private companies, letting them become publicly traded while avoiding some of the uncertainty of an initial public offering. The vehicles have become a popular way for venture-backed startups to list on the public markets. More than $35 billion has been raised by the 117 SPACs that have gone public on U.S. exchanges this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The new SoftBank vehicles, SVF Investment Corp. 2 and 3, will target the same diverse areas of technology as the first, including mobile communications and artificial intelligence, according to filings Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Because the SPACs are different sizes, they can work with companies of different maturity.
SVF 2 has entered into a forward purchase agreement in which it has committed $100 million to $150 million of capital for when it combines with another company, its prospectus shows. SVF 3 has entered into a forward purchase agreement in which it has committed $150 million to $200 million of capital for when it combines with another company, its prospectus shows.
For both new vehicles, each unit of the SPAC will consist of one share and one-fifth of a warrant. Citigroup Inc., UBS, Deutsche Bank AG, Cantor Fitzgerald and Mizuho Securities are advising on the listings.
SVF 2’s management committee is led by Munish Varna, a managing partner at SoftBank’s Vision Fund, while SVF 3’s management committee is led by Ioannis Pipilis. SoftBank’s first SPAC is led by Vision Fund Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Misra. Vision Fund Chief Financial Officer Navneet Govil serves as CFO of all three SPACs. All are overseen by SoftBank Investment Advisers, which also runs the company’s Vision Fund.
Having three SPACs launches SoftBank into a growing collection of companies with multiple blank-check vehicles, including the Gores Group and investor Chamath Palihapitya’s Social Capital Hedosophia.
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| To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (5924) | 2/6/2021 11:05:05 AM | | From: Madharry | | | | FYI CNNE also launched 3 SPACs one of which merged with a huge payments company i think called paysafe and now has the symbol bft. I think another one announced a merger as well.
there is a great write up on softbank on seeking alpha by khaveen investments.projecting 30-60% upside for what its worth. |
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| From: Glenn Petersen | 2/12/2021 8:52:16 PM | | | | | | Another liquidity event for Softbank:
SoftBank-backed Coupang reveals revenue surge ahead of U.S. IPO
By Reuters Staff
February 12, 2020
(Reuters) - South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc, backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, on Friday filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange, hoping to cash in on strong demand for high-growth tech stocks as it reported a near-doubling of annual revenue and narrowing losses.
Coupang is aiming for a valuation of around $50 billion in its U.S. initial public offering (IPO), according to a person familiar with the matter.
This would make it the largest IPO in New York by a company based outside the United States since Alibaba Group Holding in 2014, Dealogic data showed.
Founded in 2010 by Harvard graduate Bom Kim, Coupang made a splash in Korea with its ‘Rocket Delivery’ service, which promised delivery within 24 hours, shaking family-owned retail conglomerates such as Shinsegae and Lotte.
Coupang was valued at $9 billion in its last private fundraising round in 2018, according to data provider PitchBook.
In a regulatory filing, Coupang said total revenue jumped 91% in 2020 to $11.97 billion, while net losses narrowed to $474.9 million from $698.8 million.
The company, viewed as a rival in South Korea to e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc, received $1 billion in funding from SoftBank in 2015 and $2 billion from its Vision Fund in 2018.
Coupang’s other investors include BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and billionaire investor Bill Ackman.
The U.S. IPO market is at its strongest in more than two decades, and investors are flocking to buy shares in technology companies that have benefited during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coupang plans to list under the symbol “CPNG”. It has yet to provide a target asking price for its shares.
Goldman Sachs, Allen & Co, JP Morgan, BofA Securities and Citigroup are among the underwriters.
Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Joshua Franklin in Miami; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli, Sriraj Kalluvila and Kevin Liffey
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| To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (5926) | 2/17/2021 7:54:06 PM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | Barron's is suggesting that the Coupang IPO could value the company at $100 billion. Softbank owns a 37% stake. Unfortunately, the article is hidden beyond a paywall.
Masayoshi Son Just Pushed SoftBank Shares Past Dot-Com Peak
Min Jeong Lee and Takahiko Hyuga
Bloomberg
Tue, February 16, 2021, 3:25 AM·4 min read
(Bloomberg) -- For Masayoshi Son, these days are even better than the dot-com bubble.
Shares in the Japanese billionaire’s SoftBank Group Corp. surged in Tokyo on Tuesday to the highest close since the company went public in 1994, rising past a long-standing record two decades ago.
The shares rose 4.2% to finish at 10,420 yen, surpassing its previous record of 10,111.09 yen marked on Feb. 18, 2000. SoftBank’s share price increases have been backed by a surging stock market which lifted the value of its portfolio companies.
The gains come on the heels of last week’s record earnings at its Vision Fund, which reported an $8 billion profit in the three months ended in December. Son has said he wants 10 to 20 of his portfolio companies to go public each year. Already this year, South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Corp. filed for a U.S. listing, which could more than triple the value of SoftBank’s $3 billion investment.
“The global equity market rally is boosting people’s view on SoftBank’s first and second Vision Funds,” said Masahiko Ishino, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.
It’s a remarkable turnaround for SoftBank, which just last May posted a record fiscal year operating loss of 1.35 trillion yen ($12.5 billion) after missteps with office-sharing provider WeWork and satellite startup OneWeb. The coronavirus pandemic compounded those challenges, putting in jeopardy Son’s investments in the so-called sharing economy. Shares fell as low as 2,687 yen apiece.
In a bid to regain investor support, Son reversed his long-standing aversion to parting with equity investments. He pledged in March to sell off 4.5 trillion yen in assets and buy back 2.5 trillion yen of its own stock. He quickly peddled stakes in China e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., T-Mobile US Inc. and SoftBank Corp., the domestic wireless business.
While aggressive buybacks propped up SoftBank Group’s shares last year, surging demand for IPOs pushed the stock to new heights. In November, the Vision Fund reported a record profit, largely due to a $5.1 billion gain from its investment in a Chinese real estate startup called KE Holdings Inc.
This month, SoftBank revealed the Vision Fund had made even more money in the December quarter. A rally in technology shares boosted the value of stakes in publicly traded firms like Uber Technologies Inc. and sparked strong demand for IPOs from portfolio companies such as DoorDash Inc. SoftBank invested about $680 million for a stake in DoorDash that is now worth about $9 billion, Son said last week.
The lofty share price may bring back bubble-era memories, when Son briefly became the world’s richest man from backing hundreds of dot-com startups -- only to see his fortune plunge by $70 billion in a matter of months.
Last week, he revisited his argument that SoftBank is like a goose that lays golden eggs, from Alibaba two decades ago to DoorDash and Coupang now. At one point, he marched in place while an animated goose laid sparkling eggs and music from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker played.
“Since the Vision Fund launched, the number of golden eggs is in accelerating mode,” he said. “We are finally in the harvesting stage.”
With Tuesday’s rally, the stock has surpassed Ishino’s target share price of 10,000 yen. The stock also trades above analysts’ 12-month consensus of 9,592.14 yen, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The 14-day relative strength index on SoftBank stock hovers above the 70 mark, an indication that shares may be poised for a downward correction.
Read more: Masayoshi Son Explains the Vision Behind SoftBank’s Vision Fund
Ishino said it’s “possible” for SoftBank’s stock to head for levels near 15,000 yen, as Son has asked investors to evaluate the stock based on its net asset value, or the value of its equity holdings less its net debt. SoftBank calculated its net asset value at 14,935 yen a share as of Jan. 1, with much of that coming from Alibaba.
“My eyes are on how the net asset value growth takes its course from here,” Ishino said. “Currently, it relies heavily on Alibaba. The focus will be on whether it is able to lift expectations for its other investments in the two Vision Funds, as it cuts back on Alibaba.”
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| From: Glenn Petersen | 2/22/2021 9:09:47 PM | | | | | | WeWork Co-Founder Adam Neumann Nears Settlement With SoftBank
SoftBank could spend roughly $1.5 billion to buy the shares of early WeWork investors and employees
By Maureen Farrell and Eliot Brown
Wall Street Journal
Feb. 22, 2021 5:43 pm ET
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WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann in 2017. SoftBank could spend nearly $500 million to buy shares from Mr. Neumann, according to terms being discussed. PHOTO: NOAM GALAI/GETTY IMAGES
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WeWork co-founder and former Chief Executive Adam Neumann is in advanced talks to settle a high-profile legal fight with SoftBank Group Corp. 9984 1.74% by agreeing to a nearly $500 million cut in his payout from the shared-office-space company’s new owner, a move that would help clear the way for WeWork’s second attempt at a public listing.
According to terms being discussed, SoftBank would spend roughly $1.5 billion to buy the shares of early WeWork investors and employees, including nearly $500 million to purchase shares from Mr. Neumann—in both cases about half of what it originally agreed to, according to people familiar with the talks.
SoftBank took a majority stake in WeWork after its attempted initial public offering collapsed in 2019 when public investors balked at buying the money-losing company’s shares and at Mr. Neumann’s conflicts of interest and erratic behavior. Mr. Neumann stepped down under pressure as CEO in the wake of the IPO debacle.
The negotiations have been rocky at times and there is no guarantee they will produce an agreement, but if there is one, it could be finalized in the coming days, the people said.
Should there be a settlement, it could be followed by another deal as WeWork is also in talks to combine with a special-purpose acquisition company, a move that would finally convert it into a public company.
WeWork has been in talks with a SPAC called BowX Acquisition Corp. BOWX -1.09% and the two sides could reach a deal in the coming weeks, the people said. There is no guarantee WeWork will reach a deal with BowX, and other financing and SPAC options are still on the table, the people cautioned.
The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that WeWork was in talks with BowX, which come amid a wave of SPAC deals and a booming IPO market. A deal could value WeWork at about $10 billion, people familiar with the matter have said.
The agreement with Mr. Neumann would put an end to a fight that has its roots in the October 2019 bailout of WeWork by SoftBank, soon after the IPO fell apart. The Japanese investing giant agreed to buy $3 billion of shares from Mr. Neumann and others as part of a deal that also pumped money into the company when it was weeks from running out of cash. The agreement included a four-year, $185 million consulting fee for Mr. Neumann, an enormous golden parachute that was criticized at the time.
Last April, as a deadline approached for SoftBank to complete the share purchase, the firm reneged, saying certain conditions of the payment hadn’t been met, including the restructuring of a China subsidiary. Mr. Neumann and other early WeWork investors each filed suit separately, starting a legal skirmish that was set to go to trial in early March. SoftBank discontinued payments on Mr. Neumann’s consulting fee amid the legal fight.
WeWork has been a black eye for SoftBank, as most of the $10 billion it invested vanished, at least on paper. Besides cutting its bill to bail out WeWork, resolving the dispute would help pave the way for a listing that could inject new cash into the company. For Mr. Neumann and the other investors, it would enable them to avoid the risk of getting nothing if SoftBank prevailed at trial.
SoftBank’s decision to withhold the $3 billion payment came as the coronavirus pandemic decreased the need for office space and put a major dent in WeWork’s business. The company’s value shrank to $2.9 billion, SoftBank told investors in an earnings presentation in May, from $47 billion at its peak. WeWork, which rents office space on long-term leases and then subleases it on shorter terms after completing hip renovations, cut thousands of jobs and withdrew from dozens of buildings around the world.
The company is still awash in red ink, though far less than before.
Under current Chief Executive Sandeep Mathrani, who joined in early 2020, WeWork has cut its cash burn from a high of $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019 to $517 million in the third quarter of 2020.
Now, its executives are betting that WeWork’s flexible offering, which allows companies to rent monthly or yearly instead of signing, say, 10-year leases, will be a hit among those that want to rethink their office space post-pandemic. Mr. Mathrani said recently he believes the company will turn a profit in the fourth quarter of 2021.
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| To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (5927) | 2/25/2021 1:00:39 PM | | From: Madharry | | | | | thanks for the valuation update. I continue to hold it. I think the company should get credit for having assets under management as well as being a go to investor in a promising start up. |
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| To: Madharry who wrote (5930) | 3/10/2021 8:44:21 PM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | SoftBank-Backed Coupang Prices U.S. IPO Above Target
By Crystal Tse and Julia Fioretti
Bloomberg
March 10, 2021, 6:40 PM CST
-- South Korean e-commerce company sells shares for $35 each
-- Coupang shares set to begin trading Thursday on NYSE
Eco-bags carrying fresh food move along a conveyor belt at a Coupang Corp. fulfillment center in Bucheon, South Korea, on Feb. 19.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
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South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. priced its initial public offering above a targeted range to raise $4.2 billion based on the planned size of the share sale, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In one of the biggest listings by an Asian company on a U.S. exchange, Coupang priced its shares at $35 each on Wednesday, the person said, asking not to be identified because the information wasn’t public yet.
The company and its existing shareholders had planned to sell 120 million shares for $32 to $34 apiece. That range had been boosted earlier from $27 to $30, signaling strong demand from investors.
An employee inspects fruits at a Coupang Corp. fulfillment center in Bucheon, South Korea, on Feb. 19.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
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A representative for Coupang declined to comment.
At $35 a share, Coupang would have a market value of about $60 billion, based on the outstanding shares listed in its prospectus. The company is selling 100 million new shares while existing investors are offloading 20 million shares. The IPO price was reported earlier by Dow Jones.
SoftBank’s Return
Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp., its biggest shareholder, is poised to reap a gain of about $16 billion from the IPO, burnishing the reputation of founder Masayoshi Son in picking successful startups even after a number of missteps.
In November 2018, SoftBank’s Vision Fund invested $2 billion in the company in a deal that valued Coupang at $9 billion, people familiar with the matter said at the time. That funding followed $1 billion from SoftBank itself in 2015, valuing the startup at about $5 billion.
Founded in 2010 by Bom Kim, a Harvard University dropout, Coupang has grown into Korea’s version of Amazon.com Inc.
The company has aggressively expanded its delivery and logistics operations, putting 70% of the country’s population within a seven-mile radius of its distribution centers, according to its prospectus filing. Coupang has also invested in new business lines like food delivery and streaming services.
For More: Coupang’s $3.6 Billion IPO Shows U.S. Is King for Tech IPOs
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Allen & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are leading the offering. Coupang shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the symbol CPNG.
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