While I don’t think SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son(pic) would like to, there’s also a chance that the Vision Fund may sell or collateralise its assets to shore up cash. SoftBank has already announced plans to do just that for itself
FORGET that US$24bil writedown on investments that SoftBank Group Corp reported late Monday. It’s bad. But it’s only paper.
The Japanese conglomerate faces a far more tangible problem as the value of portfolios plummet and credit ratings get slashed. The issue is cash. Specifically, at the US$100bil Vision Fund.
Most venture capitalists operate by taking in money from limited partners and throwing it at speculative investments, and then distributing the results (less fees) as those startups sell out or list. The fund does all that, but it also has a curious side deal that allowed it to raise such a large pile.
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