SoftBank Group’s investment vehicles posted a loss of nearly $6 billion in the quarter that ended in December as the Japanese tech investor continues to bleed through the market downturn.
This is the fourth consecutive quarter in which SoftBank Group has lost money, prompting many to challenge the fundamental thesis of the giant, which has deployed more capital in the tech markets globally than anyone else in the past decade.
SoftBank said it lost $5.8 billion across Vision and Latin America funds in the quarter. While a $5.8 billion loss is nothing to write home about, SoftBank will take comfort in the fact that it lost $10 billion in the previous quarter.
The company said the fair value of its current late-stage portfolio is over $37 billion.
In 2021, SoftBank was one of the most prolific investors globally, cutting checks worth over $20 billion in just one quarter as many investors aggressively scrambled to win large deals. As the market reversed suddenly early last year, many backers have had to brutally recalibrate their strategy.
SoftBank Vision Fund invested just $350 million in the quarter, according to an earlier Bloomberg analysis. TechCrunch understands that the sum SoftBank invested during the quarter was less than $350 million.
SoftBank has suffered major losses in the public markets as well. Overall, SoftBank’s holdings in its publicly-listed companies have a fair value of $19.9 billion, compared to the $31.4 billion that the giant invested in them.
While SoftBank’s shares in Coupang stands at a profit of $4.2 billion, the Japanese firm has lost over $9 billion in Didi and $3.1 billion in WeWork.
More to follow.
SoftBank loses nearly $6 billion in a quarter as downturn continues by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch
