According to Nikkei newspaper, SoftBank Group plans to sell 30% of SoftBank Corp, Japan’s No.3 Wireless carrier, in a move that could reportedly raise $18 billion in IPO.
The IPO would give the mobile unit autonomy and help investors value the business as well as its parent which has myriad holdings across the tech industry.
The proceeds from the listing – potentially Japan’s biggest IPO in nearly two decades – would give SoftBank control and the funds to pursue its strategy in investing in companies with potential high growth prospects.
SoftBank Group has a vast range of holdings including stakes in British chip designee ARM Holdings ARM L, struggling U.S wireless service provider Sprint Corp as we’ll as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
It has with other investors also set up a $93 billion Vision Fund that is investing in a range of firms to capitalize on a tech future expected to be driven by artificial intelligence, robotics and interconnected devices.
With SoftBank’s founder Masayoshi Son reluctant to sell stakes in investments such as Alibaba, listing the telecoms business could provide a place to park some of the conglomerate’s large debt burden.
SoftBank’s debt pile stood at around $100 billion in the financial quarter ended September.
