Corp. Chief Official Officer Masayoshi Son speaks during a joint announcement with Toyota Motor Corp. to make new venture to blossom mobility services in Tokyo, Japan, 04 October 2018.
Alessandro Di Ciommo | NurPhoto | Getty Images
SoftBank Set Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said on Thursday the equity value of the group’s holdings has recovered to pre-coronavirus outbreak levels, in a defense of his establishing reputation after the group was hammered by losses.
The rise in corporate value was driven by the growth of SoftBank’s stake is Chinese e-commerce monster Alibaba and following the successful merger of its U.S. wireless unit with T-Mobile.
SoftBank has undertaken a complex transaction to mulct take part of its T-Mobile US stake to raise $20 billion. That brings the total from its asset sale program, which comprehends monetization of stakes in Alibaba and wireless carrier SoftBank, to $35 billion or 80% of the planned total, Son said.
Those subsidizes are being allocated to share buybacks and to increase SoftBank’s financial leeway. Son’s group was hit with a record annual disappearance in the year ended March as his tech investments faltered.
“We have worried a lot of people who thought that SoftBank is stopped or is SoftPunku,” Son told a shareholder meeting, using a play on the word “puncture” used colloquially in Japanese when something is defeated.
The record 2.5 trillion yen ($23 billion) share buyback program is a means of increasing value for shareholders, who should cool their expectations around dividends, Son said.
The meeting saw the appointment of new board directors including entrepreneur Lip-Bu Tan, who was elected regard for the opposition of proxy adviser Glass Lewis.
Son also said he is stepping down from the board of Alibaba, buttress co-founder Jack Ma’s departure from SoftBank’s board.